


Elysian Fields

by windowcat



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, But not that scary, Chased by a man, Christianity, Curses, Demons, Drama, Evil Witches, F/M, Fear of impending death, First Love, Fluff, High School, Horror, Mentions of Underage Sexual Activity, Monsters, Pining, Romance, Teenagers, Underage Drinking, horror themes
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-10-19
Updated: 2019-04-05
Packaged: 2019-08-04 05:13:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 51,760
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16340441
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/windowcat/pseuds/windowcat
Summary: A girl runs from danger into the woods and meets a monstrous creature





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Rated Mature for mentions of underage sexual activities, alcohol consumption, dark themes, mental issues, and overall mature subject matter.

 

 

She was floating.

Amidst the exhausted students, down the dismal yellowish beige hallways, passing the equally tired teachers, she clicked her heels on the white linoleum floor, and her step was wide and sure, as if winged by the feeling of liberation and accomplishment. She'd stricken through a page in her life, not that it was ever hard to do before, but, nevertheless, it was satisfying.

Katie Blois had just broken up with her latest heart throb boyfriend, Caleb Connor, a senior sweetheart and the right hand man of the school's football team captain. He was almost exactly her type—tall, wide shoulders, deep but gentle voice that suggested a manly but kind spirit, tall forehead and bright blue eyes. He was a good player, too, and popular with everybody in the school.

However, in the last few weeks he had turned unrecognizable. He became suspicious, possessive, and constantly nagged her about her texting or meeting with other people. She finally got fed up with it and dumped him. It's not like she had any particularly deep feelings for him anyway, he was just another pretty face in a long string of relationships she'd gotten into throughout her four years of high school. All that experience had trained her eyes and ears to recognize the moment when she had to ditch the guy and go to the next, only this time her choices of new targets were limited. It was the beginning of Spring of the last year of high school, she'd already dated almost everyone of note in her year, and she didn't want to see any younger guys – not her style.

So, for now, all she could do was just to ride out the rest of the semester until graduation, focus on herself, her studies, and then start afresh in college next fall. Maybe this is why ending a sour relationship this time felt especially good. The freedom that was looking promising after this breakup made it a nice clean end to her romantic school life.

Her almost straight shoulder length dirty blonde hair fluttered with every step, and her unwavering heavily shadowed icy cold dark blue eyes looked ahead of her, singling out her goal—the front doors—that no one could ever sway her from. She stood taller above most other girls, being 5'5” plus the two inch heels, and her downward look at them from her head held high had the appearance of disdain that scared other, “normal”, students that she didn't care much for. She was plowing through the crowds like a nuclear icebreaker, sending cracks through the melee of bodies which opened the path in front of her that she was aiming for.

She drove home in a focused silence, thinking about chemistry and history exams that she has to study for, and about her B in drawing that she had to bring up to an A by the end of the semester. She hasn't gone to the movies with her friend Alana in forever, too. There was also the ever present pressure of starting college next fall, moving out of her family home, finding a place to rent and a job, and adjusting to a new life in another city. Caleb and his drama were already far behind her, where she left it in that dusty gym hallway.

When she got home, she walked upstairs, texting Alana about her finally dumping Caleb and knowing ahead of time what she's gonna say, because her bestie called it ages before. Alana sent her the Oprah thumbs up meme, and Katie smiled at how sweet her friend was. Walking on autopilot, she dropped her backpack on the floor in her room, changed, pulled her history book out, and went back downstairs and outside onto the deck at the back of the house for a distraction-free study time in the fresh air.

The house was usually empty this time of day. Her mother worked two jobs at the hospital as a nurse, and her little brother was perpetually gone, playing games at friends' houses, she'd even forgotten that he started to grow hair on his chin.

She liked coming home from school to an empty house, having it all to herself. She could snuggle on the couch and watch whatever on the TV or her laptop, or munch on something from the fridge without having to prepare a whole meal, or, yes, study in peace. The back deck was her favorite spot – it looked over the pine forest that bordered their property – and she loved staring into the distance between the reddish perfectly straight tree trunks, as she considered what she'd read in her textbook. The pines were relaxing, they smelled nice, and their quiet swaying in the wind brought about a sense of peace and calm.

On the deck, directly opposite the glass sliding doors that led to it, there were wooden stairs that went about ten feet down to the ground in two turns, a nice walk down to come in touch with nature and completely forget equations, names, dates, and boys. She loved to walk in the woods, too, even though technically it was somebody else's private property. The entirety of the wooded area neighboring Katie's suburban subdivision, some thousand acres, belonged to the Correa family, who were nevertheless nice enough not to fence in the wonderful park-like grounds. Neighbors, along with Katie, took advantage of the landlords' kindness, and regularly hiked and jogged in the woods upon the paths that have been made by the opportunistic visitors.

Katie breathed in lungs full of foresty air and looked over the pines while opening her book at one of the round patio tables. Fluffy gray wisps of a fog slowly billowed between the trees, perhaps spelling a soft shower. It was indeed humid outside, but neither cold nor hot, but just right to not be distracting. Katie admired the scenery for a bit before diving into the chapter on JFK, starting from the page she'd put a bookmark on back in school.

She noticed the passing of time only when it started to get slightly colder as the day drew closer to night. She looked at her phone to see what time it was, and realized that she was getting hungry. So, she closed the book and took with her inside and upstairs. Her phone dinged in her lounge pant pocket. It was a text from Caleb.

C >> “I'm outside”

She stopped in the middle of the stairs and threw her head back with grunt, holding her phone in one hand and the book in the other. Reluctantly, she dropped the book on the steps, went down the stairs, letting her weight fall on each leg as she stepped down, and pulled the front door open.

“Katie!” he called, but then stopped and brought his hand to his mouth, covering it, looking down.

“Yes,” she replied, ready to listen to what would most likely be a lecture. She slouched, hanging on the inside door knob with both hands, looking at him with an annoyed expression.

“Uh… There's no way you're thinking that was the end of our conversation! You can't just leave in the middle of us talking!”

“I was done talking.”

“Maybe you were, but I wasn't. You've got to be the most selfish, stuck up, entitled, and-and…”

She rolled her eyes and looked away, already bored to death.

He sighed and put his hands on his waist. “I've never, ever in my life known someone like you, and it's just unbelievable that you could be that inhumane and cold. I just… It's unbelievable!” He shook his head and turned his body to face away from the door, and then looked down at his toes, all his hurt and disappointment gathered up between his eyebrows.

“Congratulations, you've figured me out, I'm so proud of you! Now you don't have to be stuck with me or anything, so if you'll excuse me, I got a test to study for.”

He looked up at her, appearing surprised or even shocked at her words. “You're unbelievable, you know? I had no idea you were such a bad person, you've fooled the whole team, this is just… All along you wanted one thing, didn't you? And in the end, you didn't get it. Serves you right.”

She had no idea what he was talking about, what was that she wanted? The only thing she wanted was for him to not be standing there whining.

Losing her patience, she blurted, “Whatever, it's not like you gave me anything! All that constant nagging was unbearable, I mean, what were you even expecting?”

Hearing those words, he suddenly snapped. His lips curled in rising fury, and he surged towards the door with all of his two hundred pounds of weight. He was only two steps away from it, but Katie managed to quickly shut the door and lock it. She stepped back away from it, looking at it in shock, her heart pounding and her mouth sucking in rapid breaths. Her female intuition (or more like, several relationships in her belt) was screaming at her that this was not over, that a closed door will not keep a raging man out.

A terrifying thought crossed her mind, but she refused to give in to it. She watched Caleb's huge angry shadow pass to the right through the translucent side door window, and figured that he was planning to circle around the house to enter through another door. He's been to her house many times, and he knew the layout well, and also that there were two more doors leading outside that were almost never locked when someone was home.

Quietly, she sprinted across the living room towards the sliding door leading out to the back deck and swiftly stepped outside sliding the screen door open and close, making sure Caleb was far enough away to not hear her exit. She bolted to the right towards a secret passage through a loose deck railing that she'd used many times since she was a kid. She twisted the two loose spindles away, climbed through with the grace of a monkey scared to death, and then dropped to the ground quietly, hanging on to the deck floor with her hands to soften her fall. She then scuttled through the bushes growing below, as soundlessly as possible, hearing Caleb already approaching the deck staircase behind her.

She froze, listening how he stomped on the steps and on the wooden floor, yelling her name and going for the sliding door. When he went inside, she shot from the bushes and booked it for the woods, running diagonally from the house where there were some bushes there under the trees that could hide her.

She'd never ran this fast in her entire life. Her heart was about to jump out of her chest, her lungs breathed like there was not enough air, and her legs moved, moved on their own, carrying her somewhere she didn't know, didn't plan for, but far away from the angry heap of flesh on hormones.

She finally came to a stop when she was far away enough and turned around, thinking that she'll pass out from breathing that hard. She could still see a sliver of her house from between the trees and the branches, and when she spotted Caleb's figure walking around it, she crouched immediately, watching him closely. He walked around the house, looking under the deck, and calling her name, and then disappeared behind a corner.

She took a deep breath and let it out, her lips quavering. Then, she got up, and walked down a hill with hands in her pockets and tears streaming down her cheeks, probably ruining her makeup, but there were more pressing matters on her mind to care or even realize that.

Her mind was abuzz with thoughts, emotions, and chilling fear that numbed her bones and made her queasy. She didn't dare to even look towards the house, and her legs walked without her consciously telling them to, away and only away. What was he saying right before? She didn't get any of it. He was just crazy! He kept repeating that she was unbelievable, but it was him who was unbelievable! She had no idea he'd be capable of something like this.

She sniffed and looked around her, an unfriendly forest that looked so cold now, there was nowhere she could turn to. How would she face him in school now? What would he do the first time he'll see her? Would he try to attack her again, when she was alone? Would she even be able to go to school now? What about graduation and college? Would she live to the end of the week?

Depressing and panicking thoughts made her cry harder, and she was sobbing all out, like a little kid. The path that she was walking on turned to the side, but she kept walking, over a small creek, up the bank, and further into the woods, where she'd never ventured before.

After many minutes of walking, which seemed like ages to her, she saw a chain link fence up ahead going in both directions as far as she could see between the woods. She couldn't see beyond the fence at all because there was dense vegetation growing behind it and up against it. Slowing her step, she approached it and stopped, examining it.

It was starting to get cold, and she only had a hoodie on. She looked back and around carefully, peering into the misty distance through the woods, making sure no one was following her. Then she turned to the right and started walking along the fence. She was probably deep into her rich neighbor's territory, where no one had dared to go before, because she'd never heard anyone talking about a chain link fence being here. It was probably encircling the property residence, but she couldn't see any structures past the bushes behind it.

After a few feet she encountered a sign “Keep Out Beware of Dog”, and, making a mental note of it, she walked further until she stopped at an oak tree growing close to the fence. Its trunk was growing low to the ground before going up towards the fence. Taking her hands out of the warm pockets, she grabbed onto the cold and rough bark, climbing on it with one foot and pushing off the ground with the other. Carefully, she walked along the tree towards the fence, put one foot on the metal top, over the three lines of barb wire going at an angle all around the fence. The fence builders obviously underestimated how much this tree could grow and become a convenient passage over their neat barrier. She stepped onto the top railing of the fence with both feet, holding on to the trunk, and jumped down after picking out a landing spot between two bushes.

It was like a different world inside the fence. Rather, she was a different person now. She was a trespasser, pushed into this crime by another's. But, surprisingly, the air there smelled so free.

She walked between the bushes, hands back in their warm hoodie pockets, and stopped near a wide clearing. Taking in a large breath, and then slowly letting it out with closed eyes, she slowly walked into the middle of the clearing and looked around. There was nothing but trees and bushes, but there weren't pines there. There were aspens, oaks, maples, and other smaller trees and bushes, a completely different forest from the one beyond the fence. She couldn't see any human activity, neither houses nor paths, it was pristine virgin woods, branches tightly intertwined, untidy perennials taking over the ground, not a single human foot was here for many years. But best of all, she was completely unseen from behind the fence. If Caleb ever walked this way, he'd never find her. Well, unless he saw that low-growing oak tree and was crazy enough to jump over the fence to look for her. Although, he wouldn't need that oak to scale the fence, anyway.

She walked over to a maple tree between two bushes and sat down on the ground, holding her knees close to her body. She pulled her arms out of their sleeves inside the hoodie, stretched it over her knees, and wrapped her arms around her legs. She placed her forehead on her knee caps and closed her eyes. She was safe, at last. And warm.

Her thoughts started to calm down. There's no way Caleb would do this again, she thought. He just needed to cool off, it's not like he was _planning_ to murder her. It was just a spur of the moment thing, and he might, maybe, apologize to her tomorrow, but probably not. At least, she thought she wouldn't be in mortal danger anymore, if he doesn't find her. So, her school career was most likely fine, and she'd graduate with no problem, and bring up that B to an A, and finish her essay, and go to lots of movies with Alana… But she'll never forget this day. And she'll never forgive Caleb.

She'd been sitting there for a while, because her legs started to get numb. Grunting softly, she slid them out from under the hoodie, straightening them out, and leaned her head back against the tree. It's probably been at least an hour since she was gone, but it was still a while before it got dark. She was thankful for that, because she'd be absolutely terrified in the dark, expecting Caleb to climb out from some hole at any minute and catch her. She'd die just from the fear alone for sure.

She took a few deep breaths, completely relaxing her muscles and trying to think positively. Her spirits started to get back to the pre-Calemity levels, when she heard rustling in the bushes some not very far distance away from her, coming from further into the property. There was somebody there.

She froze again, tensing everywhere, and breathed soundlessly, listening. There was a lot of rustling, and heavy feet thumping on the ground, and it all appeared as though whatever it was wasn't human. It sure wasn't a doggie either.

She swallowed and listened further, unable to move from the spot, her heart beating fast again.

The _something_ was getting closer, but it wasn't going directly for her. It was more like passing by a few tens of feet away from her. If only it didn't make it to the clearing that she occupied, she'd be safe. After a long minute, she saw branches moving on the far side of the open space, and _something_ came out of the bushes.

She counted seconds before it looked around the clearing and its eyes finally landed on her.

At that moment, she had given up. It seemed that it was futile for her to escape death after all.

 

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

Katie wondered if she could stop her own breathing before anyone else could take it from her.

She didn't notice sweat collecting in her hair, making it stick to her face. Tunnel vision forced her to fix her eyes on the being and await its predatory pounce any second.

It only stared at her, as if frozen.

She didn't really care to take a good look at it, but at the back of her mind she understood that this was no creature from the Discovery channel. It was nothing like she'd ever seen in her life, on screen or outside.

Slowly and cautiously, the beast turned towards her, staying on its spot about fifty feet from her. It studied her for a while, and then turned its head to look around, as if checking if there was anyone else there with the strange girl.

When it seemed that the monster wasn't keen on destroying her, at least for the moment, she gave some freedom to her eyes to look it over.

It was huge. It was almost eight feet tall, while standing on its front paws like a gorilla. So, if it got up on two legs, it would be even taller, but her mind was refusing to imagine something that scary. The beast resembled an ape, but it didn't fit any ape species that she was familiar with. It was gray in color – slightly wavy long fur on all of its body but the hands and feet, which were darker gray in color. Its face was flat like a smashed chimp with a short nose and a dense clump of hair above the forehead standing up between the furry bear ears.

It looked back at her after its diligent survey of the surroundings, and she felt the sharpness of tense muscles again. Should she run back to the house? Would she even outrun the gorilla? Was this the “dog” the fence sign warned her about? What kinds of pets do rich people even have these days?

The ape just kept staring at her and back at the fence line, as if trying to figure out where she'd come from and how she got there. It seemed intelligent, eyebrows gathering together and eyes full of thought and puzzlement. And a little concern for the lax security. There was one thing that was absent in its gaze, though, and it was any aggression or animosity.

She exhaled a careful breath, carefully watching its every move.

“Um... I'll go away soon,” she said with a shaky voice.

The gorilla looked at her, listening.

“I just needed to hide here real quick. I'm not gonna stick around for long.”

The creature considered it, looking at her. She could tell it understood what she said.

“I'm sorry about trespassing, I hope it's… okay,” she stopped talking as the gorilla waved at her to come closer.

She frowned and didn't move. The creature slowly turned around, and it appeared quite clumsy, actually. It shrunk its shoulders to not break too many branches, looking like a huge person moving around a tiny gift shop. It stopped and looked back at Katie, waiting for her to follow it, and crawled (?) back through the vegetation to where it came from, rustling branches.

Katie got up from the ground and wavered. She had lost the feeling in her legs from the fear, and there was a sharp pain in her back from solid tension.

She staggered towards the beast, who was slowly making it through the bushes. It lost most of its intimidation points, swaying side to side, moving slowly almost like a sloth.

They went deeper into the property, away from the fence, and Katie glanced back, giving her spot under the tree that kept her safe the last look. She looked forward, or rather, at the beast's back which blocked most of her field of vision. Where were they going? Where was it taking her? Perhaps, back to its master? What kind of person would keep a pet like this, though? It must be someone as unusual as it, maybe a mythical creature in their own right?

In any case, dying was still very much on the itinerary of the day, if not by this monster, then most likely by its master. She imagined a gorgeous rich vampire with a refined taste who was four hundred years old but looked forever in his mid twenties. He had deathly pale skin, red lips and eyes, and long jet black hair that stayed perfectly smooth and styled no matter the situation as if by magic. She chuckled to herself, wouldn't that be hysterical. She'd be just another meal to him, caught by his loyal pet. At least her death wouldn't be as gruesome as the other possibilities that she dodged this evening.

They made it to the edge of the dense woods, and she saw an enormous dark monolith of a building rising from the mist between the naked branches. She skipped a step when she spotted it and nearly tripped. It was really tall, even though she counted only three floors. The flat roof line, cut up by recesses and turns, stood sharply gray against the clouds. Its walls were made of large stone bricks, and there were columns, ornate corbels and arches above the windows. The building was quite elaborate and probably very old. The recently installed vinyl windows with a reflective UV coat were only emphasizing its age.

This was looking exactly like a vampire lair. She was so dead.

They came out onto the perfectly manicured lawn that looked almost not real. There were large flowering bushes planted along the base of the walls of the mansion and smaller trimmed round bushes neatly running around the whole perimeter. There were stone paths going along the bushes and fanning out in various directions, with flowers growing along them. Wrought iron benches stood empty under particularly graceful specimen trees among flowers.

The beast went around the corner on the right, and the front of the mansion came into view. It was built in a letter U shape, with tall and narrow windows on the ends of the arms of the U, and a courtyard in the middle full of flowers growing in beds of various shapes with the same perfect lawn grass between them. There was a large square driveway in front of the house separated from the courtyard by a fence that was half stone half wrought iron. The driveway was made of bricks as well, and went around the house on the other side. There was a road that ran into the woods in front of the house, and Katie didn't see where it went.

Her guide went through the double ornate iron gate in the courtyard fence and closed it behind her, before continuing on its way towards the front door. She watched it go ahead, slowing down her step, her legs getting heavy and weary of what was awaiting her inside.

She looked up around the front of the building and noticed dark red velvet curtains in every window. The front door was tall and antique, with black iron hinges and the handle. It was recessed into the wall with columns, and a pair of manicured little bushes stood at either side of it in pots.

The beast rang the front door bell and stopped, waiting for a response. An old man opened the door.

“Josh, you're back! Why are you… Oh, you brought a friend,” said the man, seeing Katie behind the creature.

“Hello,” Katie said.

The man let the beast squeeze through the front door to go inside the house, and pulled out a hand for her to shake.

“Hello, I'm Harold, nice to meet you!”

“I'm Katie. Nice to meet you.”

“Oh, how wonderful, we have a guest over, I'm gonna make some tea!” He said, getting a little too excited about the tea.

She forced a tiny smile and stepped over the threshold into the house. There was no way back for her now, was there?

When “Josh” disappeared into the house, she almost forgot about his existence. Harold was such a normal-looking man, if not the fact that he was probably a butler. Who has butlers nowadays anyway? Definitely suspicious.

Harold was a tall man on the thin side, in his late sixties, and he was dressed in a gray suit with a gray turtle neck. He was totally the friendly guy who would make you relax and lower your guard before dinner time, where you were the main entree.

Anyway, it was warm inside and quite sumptuous, beats hiding in the bushes. She looked all around the inside of the house, and it made her pause. The interior design was done with great taste and attention to every detail. The colors were warm, light beige walls, cherry wood wainscoting and floor with wide and thick planks that definitely weren't sold in the local hardware store. There was a lot of gold and deep red, some greens and powder blue, silk on the upholstery, and ornate hand carved wood furniture with gold hinges and handles. It all looked like it was here for a long time, all built and decorated in the same century and then survived the passage of time in tip top condition.

The house didn't seem as spacious once Katie was standing in the ten by ten feet entrance room. There was a hallway going from the front door to the double French door going outside on the opposite end of the house. It had a very tall ceiling, gold rimmed mirrors, oil paintings, beautiful three tier crystal chandeliers, faded Persian rugs, and a bench with dark red silk covered silk. Tall doors of a variety ran from the hallway to various rooms, and an opening to another hallway on the left further down.

Harold invited her into the first room with wide open French doors that looked like a library or office. It wasn't big, despite what rich people libraries she thought to be like from popular media. It was a cozy room with a gorgeous green rug covering most of the floor and one wall fully covered with book shelves and filled with books to the brim. There was a computer desk in front of the shelves which looked like it's been used daily. Katie imagined a four hundred year old vampire in sheep print pajamas with a peculiar taste discovering the wonders of online shopping, long clawed fingers tapping on the keys like it's the most usual thing.

“So,” Harold chirped, dancing around her like she was the first customer in three weeks at his artisan breads shop. “I see that you've already met Josh.”

“Um,” she turned to him, her mind still struggling to comprehend everything that had happened. “I actually just met… _Josh_ in the woods, I mean… I've never seen him before today.”

“Oh! A new friend! Splendid! We have a special tea blend for these occasions!”

Harold spoke without any accent. For some reason Katie expected him to have English accent or something like that. His dialect was a little more flowery than the typical baby boomer speak native to their area, though. He was just a regular elderly guy, and that, given the circumstances, was bizarre.

He offered her to sit on one of the armchairs facing the computer desk and excused himself to go make some tea, when Katie asked to go to the bathroom. Harold jumped as if he'd just remembered they actually had a restroom just for the guests, it was right over there! Katie looked at him with a smile at how excited the poor man was to have someone over. They probably didn't have that many guests… since… the house pet is actually an unknown species of animal.

Big foot!

She gasped whilst in the bathroom and thinking to herself. That must be it! They've captured a Big Foot!

That thought quickly disappeared as soon as she'd looked at herself in the mirror. She was a _wreck_. Her mascara and shadow were all over her cheeks, her hoodie and hair full of leaves, and her snickers dirty with thick clumps of mud stuck around the rim. She peed and proceeded to erase the evidence of the adventure in the woods earlier. There was a small window in the bathroom, and the darkness of night had just started to touch the overcast sky. Soon, the centuries-old owner of this residence would awaken and wrap his cold fingers around her neck, claiming her life.

Yeah, it was fun to escape into ridiculous fantasies. At least it distracted her from the emotional roller coaster Caleb took her for mere half an hour ago. Although, the more she thought about it, the less she believed them. Okay, but the pet was kinda rising questions. There's no doubt there was something fishy going on in this lonesome mansion in the middle of the woods.

After fixing herself a bit, she unzipped the hoodie and wrapped it around her waist, remaining in her blue t-shirt – a more comfortable look.

When she returned to the library, Harold was there with a small silver (probably real) tray with two cups of steaming tea, a jar of honey, and a small ceramic sugar holder. The tea was yellowish green in color and smelled amazing. She sat down in the seat that the butler pointed out earlier, and he put the fancy ornately decorated cup in front of her on a saucer.

“Honey? Sugar?”

“None, thanks.”

Harold put the tray with the sweeteners away and sat down next to her in the other arm chair.

“So, what brings you to our neck o'the woods??” He took a careful and much appreciated sip of the tea, holding the cup with fingertips of both hands.

“Um… I was running away from someone… And I found your fence, and there were dense bushes behind it, so I decided to hide there. Sorry for trespassing into your territory.”

“Oh dear! Who were you running from?”

She sighed and placed the cup back on the saucer after trying a sip of the, indeed, wonderful flowery blend. She looked at the cup, getting depressed remembering the events.

“From my ex-boyfriend. I broke up with him and he got mad. He came to my house all upset and aggressive, so I ran away.”

“Dear heavens! Sounds scary! You must have been really shaken up!”

“Mm, yeah.”

“I absolutely understand why you'd want to hide in our shrubs! The forest beyond is pretty open, you can see pretty far.”

“Yeah.”

“So… Katie, you must have lots of questions about your encounter with Josh today!”

“Well, yeah,” she said and looked at Harold with guilt for some reason. She discovered something that was probably meant to be a secret.

“Well, Josh is actually human, he's the son of the owner of this house, who's away at the moment. During the day, Josh turns into that creature, and after sundown, he's back to his regular, human self.”

Katie's eyes widened and stared at him. That sounded as crazy as any of the other wild options.

“Indeed, if you stay a bit longer, you'll be able to meet him properly.”

“How does that happen? I mean...”

“It's a curse. But I'm sure he can tell you himself once he's back tooo… himself. He's a bit bashful of this form in front of a lady, as you could imagine,” he smirked and leaned towards Katie like he was sharing an embarrassing secret.

“Hey! Who's bashful? Stop telling people lies!” Katie heard from another room deep inside the house and guessed it was probably Josh. It was a regular guy voice, pretty young, most likely an older teen. So, he could speak in his monster form?

Harold giggled and sipped on his tea victoriously.

The tea was making her relax. The house was very quiet, and the lights were out in most of the rooms besides the entrance room, the hallway, and the library. There was a grandfather clock on the wall, ticking rhythmically. Everything was creating an atmosphere of peace, maybe because of the timeless décor. The more she breathed the air inside, and the longer she sat in that armchair, the more comfortable she felt, and even the fact that the house owner had a bewildering appearance didn't bother her anymore. After she heard an explanation, all her doubts and fears suddenly went away like smoke. She felt safe here. She left the real monster back in her house.

“Would you like to stay for dinner, dear? We have a marvelous roast salmon today, and I made way too much for just the two of us.”

Katie looked him like he'd read her mind. “I'd love to!”

“Great! Then, let me go prepare it. In the mean time, allow me to take you to the game room to play with Josh for a bit.”

“Okay.”

“Right this way.” Harold got up and showed Katie back to the entrance room and down the hallway.

The “game room” was actually a former family room modified to what Katie realized was a _literal_ game room, or more precisely, a video game room. The room itself was on the right next to the french doors that led outside to the back porch, which she could still see through the glass illuminated by the darkening skies, and opposite the formal dining room on the left.

The first thing she saw was Josh's monstrous back, sitting in the middle of the room with a VR headset on his head. The room was dark, and the only light there was the huge TV on the wall opposite the entrance. There were wires going from the headset to the ceiling and then away to a box sitting on a metal shelf with lots of gadgets and equipment.

The room was incredibly messy. There were DVDs, candy wrappers, empty pizza boxes, dirty juice glasses, socks, and some week old pieces of food that turned unappetizing.

Slowly, Katie walked over to Josh and sat down on the floor next to him. Harold quietly left, leaving the two alone.

On the TV, she could see what Josh was doing in virtual reality. It was some kind of a fantasy game but which looked unfinished, with low rez trees and just plain green color for grass. Josh had an axe in his right hand, human on the screen, and he waved it at everything from trees to rocks to gnomes or goblins running at him from between the trees.

She bent her knees, crossed her legs, and just sat there, watching him play.

As Josh cleared a quest of smashing a group of poorly rendered anthropomorphic mushrooms, she let her eyes wander to her left where he was sitting, to examine him closer. He looked like literal furry gray Hulk, only his face had looked more animal-like. Bulky rolls of muscles under the fur suggested incredible strength. He could probably easily snap a human in half. His fur was lighter in color on the ends than deep in the undercoat, like it was bleached in the sun. Did he take strolls outside often? There was a piece of twig stuck in the hairs, she stared at it move slightly as Josh was waving the VR controls in his hands.

“Wanna try playing, too?” He said casually.

“Sure,” she replied, casually.

He pulled the headset up off his eyes and leaned to the left to a pile of electronic stuff. He pulled another headset by its wires and handed it to Katie. There wasn't enough light in the room to really see his face up close, but she was a little thankful for that. She calmly accepted the headset and pulled it over her eyes.

She was immediately plunged into a world created by man. It was her first time playing a VR game, and even though it looked unfinished, the experience was extraordinary. Perhaps, because it was unfinished it felt even crazier.

“Take these,” Josh said and his in-game human avatar held up two controls for her. They were weirdly shaped, a stick with a circle, and she accepted them with reluctance, unsure how to use them. “A friend of mine is working on this game,” he continued. “Chuck. He's amazing. He's only completed rendering the town, but the woods out here are just sticks and blocks,” he chuckled.

“Wow, that's cool.”

“I know, right?”

They went further along a mountain slope, continuing on his main quest. The characters moved with the press of a button, but in reality they remained seated, which was totally weird. Katie was also a dude in the game, and she thought that it was probably somebody else's avatar.

There were birds and insects flying around, real forest sounds, and she could almost smell the fresh cool mountain air. She looked up and saw a range of snowy peaks, very cartoonish looking. It sure would be a beautiful forest once completed.

The two of them passed by a lake with ducks, over a creek, harvested some berries and battled wolves.

“These lone wolves are too easy to kill,” he explained, “And these herbs you can eat and heal damage... Pretty neat, huh?”

“Yeah, it's amazing! Must be awesome to have a friend like that.”

“Sure is!”

They then went along the quest-suggested path up the slope of a mountain to a wooden cabin sitting on a ledge. They looked around to see if anyone was nearby.

“This is the dwarf house that we gotta pillage. There are usually weapons and other goodies inside.”

Josh opened the small door meant for short people, and they both went inside. It was just a square room with windows, and there wasn't much furniture there. One bed, a table with a chair, and a large ornate chest standing by a wall. The chest was finished for some reason whereas the rest of the interior was just blocks of color and outlines.

“Go get the loot in that chest, I'll check out this closet,” Josh commanded, and turned to a small door in the wall that she didn't notice at first.

“Okay,” she said and thought how nice of him to let her get the chest that looked like it was stolen from a royal treasury.

With a wide grateful grin and faith in monsterhood restored, she raised the ornate golden lid. Suddenly, a swarm of black birds rushed out and into her face. She screamed and jumped away in reality to Josh's delighted giggles.

“Dude!” she protested, and he laughed louder.

She should have known, though, that chest was definitely there to troll people. It only lacked a bow on top. She was still mad and fuming, though, that she was put through that experience after fearing for her life multiple times that day. Josh continued to rummage through the closet, collecting loot. She put her headset back on her head and sat back next to him, bent on payback.

“Look at this,” in-game Josh's peasant avatar handed her a vial with a tag. She grabbed it and read what it said:

“Free-Range Organic Elixir for Boo-Boos and Ouchies. Disclaimer: Can't heal your pride, lol.”

“What? What is this?”

“It's an elixir, it's for your boo-boos.” He said suppressing laughter. Then he got more serious. “Sorry, that was just too funny. It's actually a healing potion that can heal any damage, and you only need very little, so it'll last you a long time.”

“Oh. Okay, thanks.” She got confused why it would be necessary for her since they're only playing the game till dinner.

The loot was substantial, and Josh had to share half of it with her to recompense for his prank. After that, they were on their way up the mountain. They had to cross an abyss by a rope bridge, escape a rock fall, and fight trolls, when the final destination was in view – the Emperor Emerald, deep in the heart of the tallest mountain.

But before they entered the main dwarf treasury vault, Harold called them to dinner.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Disclaimer: Katie is not a furry.


	3. Chapter 3

 

Josh took his headset off and placed it carefully on the floor.

“So, what do you think? Cool, huh?”

She looked up at him from her sitting position on the floor, and her head bent back just to hold a conversation with him properly. Of course, there was also the issue of the talking Sasquatch, which would definitely take some getting used to. He had huge hands with thick short fingers, and most things meant for humans looked tiny in them. His legs and feet were like those of an ape, with opposing thumbs.

Harold said it was a curse, but she'd never believed in curses before. It was hard to wrap her mind around it.

“It's gonna be great,” she answered, “Once it's finished! I'd love to play it!”

He looked pretty happy hearing it, being proud for his friend.

“Okay, imma go outside for a bit.”

“Sure…”

Clumsily, he got up on all fours with his literally elephant-sized body, and walked out of the room, ducking under the door frame of the game room. He turned right in the hallway and walked outside through the double French doors. It got quiet in the room save for the hum of electronics. She sat there for a few moments, listening to the silence. There were headsets and controls on the floor, it was such a mundane scene, as if she was just playing games at a friend's house, like a normal kid. It was hard to believe that just a while ago she was chased into the woods by a psycho and then encountered a beastly being out of a nightmare.

She got up from the floor and followed the kitchen noises Harold was causing to find him.

“Oh, there you are! Have a seat at the dining table, dear, the dinner's coming right up!” Harold said happily raising his eyebrows, probably looking forward to the dinner more than she did.

Katie didn't reply right away because she was blown away by the design of the kitchen. There was actual fire in a domed brick oven. Huge sparkling stainless steel gas stove. A free standing industrial size sink with copper faucet, the kind they haven't been making for at least a hundred years. Sleek gray modern kitchen cabinets with shiny glass finish. Clay tile on the floor with pieces of centuries-old history stuck in the grout. A fridge size wine cooler with glass door and LED lights inside. Extra wide black stainless steel double door refrigerator. Barrel ceiling with brick face and recessed LED lights. Green stone countertop with an intricate pattern that ran through it in waves.

“Um, yeah, okay,” she said and had to walk off to find her seat.

She stopped in her tracks when she discovered the dining room, too. One word came to mind: regal. Another one: imposing. It wasn't pretentious by no means, because these people meant business with their interior decorating, and they had all the guts and taste to see it through.

The dining room was large with a tall row of arched windows with beautiful scenery outside. It had a domed ceiling with lights running around it and making it cast a soft reflected light onto the center of the room. Long table with handcrafted ornate legs and chairs and mother of pearl inclusions in the tabletop. There were tall candles in copper finely decorated ancient candle holders, and a large iPad forgotten by someone. It was charging, and the wire was attached to underside of the table.

She saw the three seats at the table, one at the head and two at its sides, and picked the one closest to the doorless entrance to the kitchen. Harold brought out water for the three of them on a silver tray.

“Where's Josh?”

“He said he'll go outside for a bit.”

“Oh…” He chuckled. “You know, he doesn't fit in any of the bathrooms in the house, so he has to go to the bathroom outside. So, next time, please use the front driveway to get to our house, or call me to come get you, or else if you just wander in the woods it might make him a little.. _uncomfortable.”_

Her eyes widened to their max and she nodded furiously.

He smiled and walked away. This topic seemed to amuse him – his teenage mutant employer suddenly getting discovered in the woods relieving himself by some lost girl.

She looked at her phone. It was nearly 6 pm and there were no messages or calls. Her best friend Alana had band practice till 7, so she didn't usually text her at that time. But at least she expected Caleb to text her to say sorry or just anything. She dashed out of her house and left him there, he should have at least reacted in some way. She sighed and put her phone away into her pocket.

The skies looked dark blue out the windows, the last bit of light before the night settled in, and Katie remembered that it was about time for Josh to turn back to human. And boy wasn't she curious. It's not that his human appearance would change how she felt about him – a friend who was a bit odd – but still. It was like meeting an online friend in real life without ever seeing their photos. They even played a VR game together, they formed an unspoken bond.

But… What if he was really handsome? He was pretty bulky as a monster, what if it was just an exaggerated and hairier version of his human self? She wouldn't mind that in the least, even if he had a slight flaw of being a beast by day. The important thing was that he was human for the part of the solar cycle that mattered most. She was busy in school during the day anyway.

“Alright, miss Katie, here's your plate, and please don't wait for Josh, just dig in and enjoy!”

Harold swooped in with her plate, a finest article of china she'd ever seen with pretty blue ornaments around the rim. There was a large piece of roast salmon on it, steaming and smelling delicious, with sides of mashed potatoes and asparagus, and a garnish of lemon quarters and green parsley.

He also put a plate directly opposite her, for Josh, and then went back to the kitchen to get one for himself at the head of the table. Katie started to feel a little self conscious since she's never had formal dinner with rich people, what if her manners would betray her more humble roots? She stealthily glanced at Harold and how he unfolded his burgundy napkin with embroidered gold rims (was that real gold?) to set it on his knees and poured red wine for himself and for his beastly employer.

She didn't move, watching him put brie cheese on a piece of toast and chase it down with the wine. She looked at her plate and realized that her stomach was in no shape to accept any full size meals at the moment. Was that the consequence of being put through two very different horror movie plots? Or was she just nervous for another reason?

She heard the French door open and close, and steps getting closer, normal human steps. She tensed up a bit, awaiting the reveal almost anxiously. He didn't go straight to the dining room, though, and she heard him go into one of the bathrooms in the hallway to wash his hands.

It got really dark in the entire house by then. There was light in the entrance room, in the kitchen, and in the dining room. It was awfully quiet, too, but not eerily so.

Josh finally came out into the dining room through the doorway, as if materializing through the darkness. He walked around the long table with hands in his sweat pant pockets.

The first thing she noticed was _short_.

And _beautiful_.

He pressed his lips together in a small smile at Katie, as if apologetic for something.

“Thanks for waiting,” he said quietly.

“Don't be ridiculous, I'm already on my seconds, you sure took your sweet time,” Harold teased.

“Sorry,” Josh replied with a genuine smile.

Everything about him was petite. He was only a couple inches taller than her, and if she was on her regular heels, they'd probably be the same height. He was skinny in general, small hands, small face, and even if he was sort of rough and angular in a guy-ish way, he looked like a doll. His skin was pale and translucent like porcelain, the shape of his face a perfect oval with a pointy chin, cheeks smooth and skin even and flawless like he had makeup done professionally. Thick and long black eyelashes veiled his deep set eyes with light gray, almost white, irises with black rims around them. His hair was jet black and a little wavy. He was just as startling in his human form as the monster one. He looked like he wasn't born but manufactured.

However, she felt no attraction to him whatsoever. He was completely opposite of her type. She preferred handsomeness of the Steve Evans kind. But she felt relieved, because she wanted to play games with him again, as friends.

Taking a second look at him, though, showed that he was a mess. His hair was long, below his jaws, uncombed, even if it was clean. The hair looked like it just grew out of whatever hairdo he had years ago, and he never got back to caring for it, or anything else about his appearance for that matter. His white t-shirt had a faded print and literal holes on it. The sweatpants had stains and torn threads on them and probably belonged in the trash.

“Hope I didn't make you wait too long,” he said to Katie, grabbing his napkin with those miniature beautiful hands with perfect nails.

“I was starting to get worried, thought the wolves took you away into the wilderness to live with them,” she replied. “Or bears.”

He snorted a bit but then looked down, and Harold did the same. Josh mumbled a prayer with his eyes closed, and after that grasped the utensils and attacked the salmon with appetite.

“Mmm, Alfred, you're hired!”

“I'm afraid I'm already hired.”

“Aww! That's too bad! You're the best you know?”

“Why, thank you, Josh, but you know, it's you who hired me.”

“What? No way!”

“Indeed!”

Katie looked at them, confused. “Wait,” she looked at the butler, “I thought your name was Harold?”

Josh answered, “Yeah, it is, that's just what I call him.”

She lifted her eyebrows but didn't say anything. Okay.

Josh looked older than her, but not more than a couple years. There was a noticeable maturity in his gaze that was beyond his years, but it seemed that he wished to hide it behind jokes and smiles. It was a little surprising, but maybe not, given that he was cursed to never see the light of day as a normal boy. He'd probably been through a lot. Imagine waking up one day as an eight foot tall monster, must have been terrifying. Although, she couldn't even imagine the circumstances around the “curse”. What if he'd always been like this? It'd be pretty curious to see baby Sasquatch, was he cute like all babies?

“So, Katie,” Josh looked at her from across the table and over the surprisingly modest collection of foods, given the extravagance of the residence.

“Yeah,” she sent a forkfull of salmon into her mouth, ready to listen.

“Um… I probably scared you back in the woods, and never apologized, so, I'm sorry.”

She paused, and then wiped her mouth where a stray piece of salmon landed, “No worries, it was me who trespassed anyway, so it's cool. Besides, you're like the chillest monster, not scary at all.”

He raised an eyebrow and pulled his head back a bit, a little surprised and even offended. Him? Not scary?

She smirked. “You're so slow and awkward in that form, I could run circles around you. On my heels.”

He made a scoff disguised as a chuckle, and Harold poured him some wine.

“I was moving slowly on purpose to not scare you,” he said with a little smile that was meant to ridicule her delusions.

She laughed but didn't say anything. She will definitely prove him wrong, in the nearest future. She looked at him with narrow eyes, but he caught on her intentions, and immediately squinted back to mean that he was on his guard and she would outrun him only in her dreams.

He then turned back to Harold and started talking about the garden in the backyard to change the topic. They went into details about some fruit trees that were already flowering, but there was still danger of frost, so they may not get a large harvest this year. Katie listened not following the conversation, she knew next to nothing about gardening. The two were going off about some obscure plants she'd never even heard the names of, and some that she'd only heard once on some super health nut blog.

The dinner was finished, the salmon devoured, and desert, home made cheesecake, ravaged. They all got up from the table to take the dirty dishes back to the kitchen. Katie followed Harold to the kitchen and waited until Josh went back to the dining room for more plates.

“So… Does he work or go to school?” she asked quietly, glancing back to make sure Josh didn't hear her.

“He does not. If you're curious, why don't you just ask him? He turns into a gorilla during the day, he doesn't get easily offended, you know?”

She chuckled and handed him a plate to rinse in the sink and put it into the dishwasher. “I dunno, it's kinda… So, he just plays games all day?”

Josh came back with a pile of dishes and left over foods, put it all on the counter near Katie, and went back out.

“Pretty much. But!” He raised a finger, “Don't jump to conclusions just yet. You need to hear him out. Maybe one day. If you want to be friends with him, hear his story.”

“Okay. I'm kinda curious about it myself, I mean…”

Another plate went into the dishwasher.

“Well, then, ask him. He won't tell you if you don't.”

“Alright.”

“Would you like me to drive you back to your house?”

“Hm? Sure. My house is actually right next to this property. It's like, right around the corner.”

“Oh, that's good.”

“Next time I can drive over here myself.”

“Wonderful! Though, I wouldn't mind picking you up at all, if you ever need to.”

“Okay, thanks.”

“You two making plans without me?” Josh protested and walked up to them from behind, trying to see what they were doing over their shoulders. Harold was quite a bit taller than him, though, and Josh had only two inch advantage over Katie, so, that wasn't a very successful.

She turned to him and laughed a little. But it stilp surprised her how petite and harmless he looked as a human, such a dramatic contrast to his epic day form. “We're just talking about how to get here by car.”

“Oh.” He lost interest immediately, twisted around on the spot with hands in his pockets, and walked to the fridge to grab a piece of cheese. Did he ever drive? Does he ever leave the house? He must, doesn't he? After all, sunset doesn't even happen that late, one can live an eventful and fulfilling life after dark.

So. Many. Questions!

“Anyway,” she continued, “It'd be weird to be driven to a friend's house by his butler to play computer games. I mean, what would my neighbors say?” She chuckled, “What would my mom say?”

Harold turned to her and smiled. “Oh, I'm not a butler.”

She paused.

“I'm the gardener, I'm just slacking off.” He smiled mischievously, turned back to the dishwasher and closed it, setting its cycle.

She laughed into her hand, and he glanced back at her with a satisfied smile.

“That's right!” Josh spoke up from near the open fridge. “It's a house of slackers.”

It was getting late, so Katie prepared to go back home. She basically only had her phone on her, and that fact alone reminded her about the whole Caleb situation. Remembering that fact felt like getting struck by electric shock. Was it really safe to go back home? She wouldn't be able to relax in her own home now!

“Hey,” Josh asked when she came out of the bathroom in the main hallway before leaving.

She looked up at him from her phone. They were alone in the hallway – Harold went to get his car keys.

“Back in the woods, you were running from someone.”

She really didn't want to have this conversation. She looked back at her phone and said quickly, “It's nothing, it was just my ex.”

He looked seriously at her, and he appeared older at that moment. “Nothing wouldn't make you jump over a fence that says 'Beware of Dog'.”

“Um, it's over now, my mom's home, so it's okay, really.”

“You know, if he ever bothers you again, just give me a holla! I mean, my day form. So, don't hesitate. Scaring douchebags to the point that they crap their pants is one side of my life I do enjoy.”

She smiled and chuckled, clutching her phone with both hands. “Thanks, I appreciate that, but I don't think that would be necessary.” She headed for the front door, seeing Harold appear through a complete darkness in the side hallway. She looked back at Josh after a moment, “Though I'd actually pay money to see that.”

They both giggled, and Katie stepped through the doorway when Harold opened the door and let her through.

“Oh, right, numbers,” she remembered, and Josh also pulled his phone out.

They exchanged numbers, and Katie was on her way. Harold told her to wait for him at the courtyard gate while he gets the car and stepped to the left to go to the garage. She waited at the gate for but a few moments, and a fancy black Lexux sedan slowly pulled up to her.

The smooth ride took her up the driveway, through the woods, and up to the ornate wrought iron gate that opened automatically when they approached. The way back was pretty straight forward, and it wasn't hard to remember the roads. She got the address from Harold anyway.

He stopped in front of her house and wished her good night. There were lights in the house, including in her brother's room, so everyone must have been home. She waved him goodbye and watched the elegant machine roll down the street with its powerful engine purring subtly. When only the tail lights were left visible, she walked up the wide walkway steps to her house, and then it dawned on her.

Alfred was the name of Batman's butler.

And she snorted and laughed into her hand.

 


	4. Chapter 4

 

Katie was standing in front of her mirror checking her teeth while curling her hair with an electric curler. She might need to go to the dentist soon. She wrapped another strand of hair around the curler and looked at her nails. The dark red polish was still holding up, no need to redo it, even after yesterday's events.

Yesterday was insane on so many levels.

She loosened up the curls a bit to create more of a beach hair style and then started applying mascara.

Yesterday was the worst she'd ever felt, and probably ever will. She thought she came face to face with death multiple times, and experience like that breaks something inside you. It makes you broken, but also stronger. Nonetheless, she'd learned her lesson, and she'll never allow it to get that bad between her and her partner. And also that men can be terrifying.

Finally, her makeup was done, and she was out the door to drive to her private Catholic high school. She was ready to take on any drama that would meet her inside its doors, even though she was so done with it all.

A tight miniskirt, a loose flowery top, high heel boots, and a bomber jacket with deep warm pockets, she was a queen, a goddess, a warrior, and nobody could stand in her way.

“Katie!” she heard Caleb's voice shout across the crowd rushing to first period.

She ignored it and continued walking.

“Hey!” He barked and grabbed her by the arm, stopping her.

“Let me go!” She demanded. She was ready to do permanent damage to him if he didn't.

“We weren't done talking! You can't just ignore me!”

“So you don't care if other people see you beat a girl?”

“Wut,” he breathed out, grimacing. “What are you talking about?”

“Don't pretend you almost broke the front door to my house yesterday to just hang out. Let me go and never talk to me again.” She shook his hand off her arm and entered her history class. She forgot about him as soon as she did.

Throughout the day, her mind kept flashing visions of yesterday, both bad and good. Caleb's berserk figure, the cold hostile forest, the dense bushes beyond the fence, Josh's monster form, walking back to his mansion, meeting Harold and eating salmon at their house, meeting Josh's human form, and then getting back to the real world afterwards. Everything felt like a dream, there's no way any of that could be real.

But then, as the day went on, she realized that, behind all of Josh's unusual issues, he was just a lazy couch potato. He didn't work, didn't go to school, and didn't have anything else to do besides play computer games and take long strolls through the woods surrounding his house. What kind of boring life was that? Didn't he have anything he wanted to do? Even a simple hobby like painting or building motorcycles? It was strange to her that a person wasn't occupied by some sort of activity. It wasn't a good kind of strange. To the point that she wasn't sure if she wanted to be friends with him if he was like that. She'd just get bored of him.

Although, Harold did say not to judge him but listen to his story. Yeah, she'd like to hear it.

She met with Alana during lunch, but didn't tell her about Josh yet. They were planning to go to the mall that day, but Katie had to postpone it to some other day. Instead, they discussed their insta makeup photos that they were meant to go over together but never had the time.

After lunch, Josh texted her.

J>>”Hey, um, sorry to bother you, Alfred's really excited about you coming over, he's literally dusting curtain rods and vacuuming the welcome rug. He was asking if you eat lobster?”

She giggled imagining Harold in an apron with a vacuum cleaner and a pink duster singing to himself.

K>>”Omg I love lobster are you kidding?”

J>>”Good. He's cooking like his favorite dish ever. You gotta come over more often, the house has never been this clean before. And tbh I love lobster, too.

K>>I'm imagining you typing on your * tiny * phone rn and that imagery kinda made my day.

J>>Okay I'm done talking to you.

K>>:*D

She laughed and sent him a couple more emojis to which he replied with an angry emoji. She put her phone away and walked into the math class with a smile.

 

***  


“Whoa! Whoa! WHOOOAAA!”

Katie navigated the VR controls much more smoothly than yesterday. She was in a transparent hamster ball rolling through the Jurassic World among gigantic dinosaurs with Josh in another ball beside her.

“Sup dude,” said a new voice in the earphones. Katie looked around and saw a third ball roll by.

“Hey, whazzuuup,” Josh greeted him.

“Not much, dude,” GASP! “Hey, is that a girl?”

“Hello,” Katie said.

“That's Katie, and this is my friend Chuck.”

“Hello, Chuck!”

“Hey, nice to meet you. So, wait, is she in your house?”

“Yeah, wearing your headset.”

“Heeey!”

Josh laughed, and Katie apologized.

The Jurassic World game was jawdroppingly beautiful and exciting. Playing that as her second VR game totally sold her on the console. She'd definitely save money to get her own set.

That was, until the runaway super T-rex stomped through the field and nearly caught Katie's ball in its jaws. Screaming, Katie rolled away just in time, but the beast damaged Josh's pod with its foot. Chuck was way ahead ditching his friends to get to the finish line. They both yelled at him, but he only sped up laughing like a maniac.

Katie was sitting on the floor right next to turned Josh. However, even though they were almost touching, the air around Josh in his beast form felt cooler. Intuitively, she thought such a large creature would radiate heat and, perhaps, smell different, but none of that was happening. And that was a little unsettling. But hey, the game was super fun, so she ignored it.

They made it to the third level, and this time it was a team effort to make two dinosaurs fight.

“Katie, you gotta invite Rexy in here like in the movie,” Josh teased her.

“WHAT!? NOOOOOO!!! I ain't doing that thing, it's crazy!”

“Yep, gotta be all badass with the glowsticks,” said Chuck and tossed her the glowsticks they found.

“Crap!”

The two boys rolled away to let her through to Rexy's enclosure, and she slowly drove along the corridor to the fated gate. She got close to the wall, stuck her hand out of the wheel, and pressed the open button.

“You gotta get in front of the gate and wave the glowstick!”

“I know, Chuck, shut up, I've seen the movie.”

“Ooh boy,” Chuck commented nervously.

Katie rolled up in front of the open gate, staring into darkness beyond the wall and not seeing anything at all. She stretched her hand out of the wheel through a small opening and waved the glowstick until the ground started shaking with horrifying steps. Her heart was pounding loud in her ears. When the darkness ahead started moving with more distinct shapes of the T-Rex, she floored the pedal and rolled out of there as fast as she could, screaming all the way.

The ground shook with “Rexy” running after her, and her hamster ball jumped with each step. The boys also screamed seeing the CG monster running after her. Katie turned sharply to the side when the “Super Rexy” that the boys had lured there, appeared in her vision, letting the two dinosaurs duke it out. The boys had to scatter between falling fixtures, smashed walls, and huge legs and tails to not get caught in the fight. Katie just watched from behind a statue.

They passed level 3, and level 4 was from Jurassic World 2, which Katie hadn't seen yet, so they stopped the game there.

“So, Chuck,” she said when they were back in the lounge room of the Jurassic World, “Did you create the game Josh showed me yesterday? It was troll something?”

Chuck's avatar was a brunette chick with blue eyes and revealing clothes who spoke with a young guy's voice.

“Oh no,” he laughed, “I'm just one of the artists. I'm doing environments in 3D for the little company. They just opened last year, it's awesome!”

“Wow, cool!”

“Yeah,” Josh added, “He goes to this super awesome animation college in California.”

“Yep, and right now I'm doing my internship, which I can basically do from home right here in town, and I'm super thrilled to be back!”

“That's amazing,” Katie said.

“Thanks, I'm pumped! Well, it was nice meeting ya, Katie, I'll be sure to drop by some time this week.”

“Nice to meet you too, Chuck!”

“Okay, see ya later, dude.”

“Later.”

Chuck disconnected, and Katie glanced at Josh's avatar, a jacked up Rock Johnson looking dude, and took off her headset. Seeing him in his beast form never got old. She would probably always get a small jolt just from how huge he was.

“You wanna play something else? Or get dinner? Judging by the smell it's not done yet, though.”

“Mmmm,” she mumbled, unsure.

“How was your game, Katie?” Harold spoke behind them with a tray of some delicious looking drinks.

Katie turned to him and said with emphasis, “It was _awesome_!”

“I'm glad you liked it!”

She gasped quietly, “What are those!?”

Harold smiled, pleased at her surprise, and said with a mysterious excitement in his voice, “This! Is a milkshake!”

“Oh, it's one of those, you're living it up,” Josh muttered.

Katie got up, untangling herself from the wires, and approached the tray with the tall glasses with wide straws. They were different colors, one peach and one pink.

“Be advised that one of them has alcohol in it.”

She lifted her eyebrows and looked up at him. He nodded with a smile.

“Which one?”

“The strawberry one.”

She grabbed it without second thought and immediately sent the straw into her mouth.

“We will _so_ get in trouble, Alfred!” The boy reached for the other one with his paw, the glass dwarfed in his palm.

“I lied, they both have alcohol.” Harold grinned, and Katie laughed. “I was just making sure.”

“You little prankster!”

“In my opinion, Josh, giving the young lady a drink laced with a teaspoon of the finest rum that compliments the fresh strawberries so nicely would be the least of our concerns if police were involved.”

Katie snorted into her straw and looked down to stay out of trouble.

“Hey, watch it, old man, or I'll demote you to Harold again!”

Satisfied, Harold dramatically turned around and walked away with the empty tray. Katie peeked at him from under her eyebrows and giggled soundlessly. Harold's sense of humor just clicked with her.

“You too, huh? You guys are so mean.”

She slurped her drink guiltily.

The sky outside turned pink and orange, marking the day's end, which was great, because, honestly, she didn't feel comfortable with turned Josh. She couldn't relate to him, and it was hard to imagine how he'd be able to do simple things like sit on a couch or move about the house. Being outside was probably more convenient for his Big Foot self anyway.

She stepped backwards and sat down on a white armchair that was standing by the wall in the game room, finishing up her milkshake.

Josh turned awkwardly to look out the window. “The sun's going down.” He turned back to Katie. “Wanna sit outside until dinner's ready?”

“Sure.”

They finished their drinks and left the glasses on a small side table which was full of empty electronics boxes, wires, batteries, and a spilled bag of cheetos.

Outside was getting a little chilly. Katie hadn't seen the backyard yet, so it was quite a treat. Beyond the covered porch, there was a fence, same as in the front yard, half stone half iron, enclosing a large area that was intricately planned out and planted. A variety of heights, textures, and colors of vegetation created a single elegant theme of beauty, subtlety, and complexity. The eye could travel among the flowering tubers and green bushes matched by shape and color, and never see a pattern repeat itself. Whoever designed the garden knew what they were doing. And Katie had a faint suspicion that it might have been Harold, and gardening might actually be what he was hired to do.

She looked up at Josh's face three feet above her, and his beastly form looked with pride over the garden, and a sense of accomplishment, as if it was him who did all that work. There was also a trace of unexplained longing in his eyes, as if he was missing something, or someone, perhaps the person who designed the garden? So, maybe it wasn't Harold after all, but a family member?

He broke his lonesome gaze, turned to the left, and hobbled over to a set of cushioned patio furniture standing around a pretty metal fire pit under the porch roof. Katie followed him and sat on the two-seat sofa that was facing the garden. Josh sat on the ground next to her.

He was silent, still peering at the garden with some mysterious sad feelings behind those eyes.

“Aaaany second now,” he finally said cheerfully, referring to him going back to human, and Katie chuckled. That was, again, an attempt to cover something he didn't want to reveal to her with false positivity. Of course, they didn't know each other that well, and there were probably a lot of things that couldn't be shared with her, deep, hurtful, or depressing things, given his situation. But she wouldn't have minded if he told her everything.

He sighed and sat still, waiting for the moment, looking at the color of the clouds and the long evening shadows over the forest beyond the backyard. And then it finally happened. The furry gray figure dissolved and disappeared like smoke within a moment, leaving Josh's human self sitting on the ground at the core of the beast, of which absolutely nothing remained. He cleared his throat, got up from the ground, dusted off his butt, and sat on the sofa next to her.

She studied him for a while, not saying a word. He was wearing jeans and a plain black long sleeve shirt. His hair was gathered in the back into a low ponytail. She was amazed, despite the very basic care he took of himself, how clean shaven he was. He must get up every day before sunrise to shower and shave before the minute when he could no longer use the conveniences of civilization. He even did that yesterday before anticipating a guest.

Okay, that was good. She respected people who didn't neglect hygiene, no matter the circumstances.

“So…” she spoke, and he turned his face to her. For some reason, in his eyes there was anxiety and insecurity. Did he think she was judging him? Because that was totally what she was doing. “Is this like… one of those Disney things where true love can break the spell or something? 'Coz I'm like the worst person, honestly…”

He chuckled, but it was the sad kind of smile, heavy with pain. “No,” he said, and turned back to the garden. He kept quiet for a few moments. “I actually have a girlfriend, so… Love isn't something that can break this.”

She lifted her eyebrows. “You have a girlfriend?”

“Yeah.”

That was unexpected, given that he never mentioned her before.

“She's a relative, I mean… Not like a close relative, but she's in the family, so she's aware of the drama and stuff…”

“I see.”

“She wanted to… Anyway, back to Disney. You know why the sorceress turned the prince into the Beast?”

“Um…” She paused. “I think… because he wasn't a good person or something, and she turned him into the beast so that nobody would love him? Or something? But if anyone did love him, he'd turn back to human. And he did.”

“Yeah. She did that to teach him something, to give him a chance to be a better person. She did him a huge favor.”

“Oh. Yeah.”

“Not in my case, though. My mother turned me into the beast. She didn't want to teach me anything.”

“So, why did she do that?”

“I'm not sure a hundred percent, but I think it might be to keep me in this house.”

“Why would she wanna keep you in this house? To take care of it while she was away?”

“She would've hired someone for that.”

“Can't you just ask her?”

He scoffed, “Who, my mother? She's a generational witch who can turn into a cat and destroy buildings with a spell. Us mere mortals can't question her decisions.”

“Wow! That's crazy!”

“Yeah.”

Heavy silence descended back on them. There were just too many questions circling around Katie's mind, and Josh wasn't doing a good job answering them.

“So, you just mope around in this house because she wants you to be here all day and play games?”

He smirked, side eyeing her, but then his face turned serious and he looked away. There was a lot more he wasn't saying and it was frustrating.

“I happen to like this house,” he replied finally, sounding distant, maybe defensive? “And this garden. When my mother left, this all was just bare sticks. Alfred and I brought everything here to life. In my beast form, I could do a lot more work with dirt, so it took us less time to plant everything. We even installed an irrigation system so the yard just takes care of itself.”

That sounded like he was changing the topic.

“So like, do you go out at all? I mean it's not even that late after sunset, you can still hit the town and stuff, party till morning?”

He smiled and looked down shyly. He looked up at the particularly pretty tree blooming with pink flowers. “I do go out sometimes. We go to restaurants and bars with my buddies. I even have a fake ID.”

Katie laughed a little at the ridiculously pure confession.

“Or with my girlfriend. We go to the malls and stuff. With my buddies, we traveled all around the state, even went to the beach a couple times.”

“Cool.”

“So it's not like I'm a recluse or anything.”

“Nice. I'm gonna have a birthday party in the summer, wanna come? Bring your buddies and your girlfriend, too.”

He looked at her. “When in the summer?”

“July.”

He closed his mouth and stared at her for a short while. He turned away. “I won't… I won't make it.”

“You won't make it? You're leaving?”

“S…” He looked back at her. “I won't be alive.”

Katie's eyes widened and she gaped at him.

“This curse will kill me when I turn twenty one on the Summer solstice. And my mother will gain my life force to live another hundred years.”

Katie listened to the words but they weren't making any sense.

“I was born for this purpose. And the beast curse is probably just to keep me in sight.”

He fell silent. She stared at him from under her eyebrows when the meaning finally hit her.

“You're freaking _what_?”

“I… won't be able to go to your party, sorry.”

She sighed and looked away. “Do you know how many friends I have?” She looked back at him. “One. I have _one_ friend. She's a good girl, loves playing her flute, but hates video games. And now, when I meet another friend, you're telling me that you're gonna die?”

“How's that my fault now?”

“I mean, you're just gonna roll over and let your mother take your life?”

He looked at her thinking Katie didn't really understand the issue.

“What else can I do? She's too powerful.”

She frowned. “You're not dead yet, aren't you?”

“I dunno, I think I aren't.”

“So, can't you at least look for a solution? Something that can break the spell? Or stop your mother from whatever she's gonna do to you.”

He gathered his eyebrows, thinking for a while.

“Summer solstice, when's that?”

“June twenty first.”

“So, when exactly on that day..?”

“Sunrise.”

“Of course it is.”

He chuckled.

“So, here's the deal, Josh. You may accept your fate but I don't. This just isn't right. A mother killing her own child to take his life force or whatever.”

“What are you gonna do though? She can do serious harm to you, at a distance, or even kill you.”

“Hmm. But would she know what I'm doing at a distance?”

“I guess not.”

“Well then, if she doesn't have a baby monitor on you, what's the problem?” She waved her hand and shrugged with one shoulder.

“The problem is, even if you succeed, if the ritual doesn't happen, she'll be absolutely livid. And you don't want a generational witch get livid.”

“Ritual?”

“The transfer of life force.”

“There's a ritual.”

“Yeah.”

“This is just wild.” She sighed. “This is getting crazier by the minute!”

He chuckled, “Sorry,” he said quietly.

“So… did you say you were born for this purpose? She actually gave birth to you to steal your life force?”

“Yeah. She did.”

Maybe that explained his unreal looks? It was like he was beauty and the beast in one person. But why give birth to such a being and then destroy it?

The sky got darker, and a cool wind started blowing, making Katie shiver. She lifted her legs off the ground to fold them on the sofa and crossed her arms for warmth.

“You look cold,” Josh noted, “We can go inside.”

“Hold on, I'm thinking,” she replied and then got quiet, and Josh did, too. He sat there, patiently waiting for her to say something, so helpless and utterly harmless. It was unusual to her to see a guy be so openly vulnerable, since the only males she'd been exposed to for was the endless stream of boyfriends who were mostly tough masculine guys who loved to take care of her and spoil her. And she loved acting feminine and cute in front of them, because that was what they wanted to see. But it's not like she even did that consciously, just being next to a masculine guy would bring out her femininity out of nowhere, the soft glances from the side, the puppy eyes, the small shy smiles, she would surprise even herself.

Josh, on the other hand, was eliciting a protective instinct like an abandoned animal. He had no ego to speak of, and didn't care about coming across as weak or lame. He also seemed to be quiet, a bit shy, and not very experienced with social situations or even just being around people.

He was also low key making her jealous with his looks. It took her thirty minutes in front of the mirror and hundreds of dollars in products to get smooth glowing skin, and this dude barely did anything, heck, he probably did next to nothing to his face and it was still perfect. Stupid magic boy.

But she stopped caring about his appearance and character flaws. The story he just shared made everything irrelevant. He was now her friend, and there was no way she was gonna let anyone use and hurt him. That was the kind of person she was.

“I'm gonna look into it and see what we can do. Maybe we can fight her on her own turf,” was her conclusion, and it made Josh snort and laugh.

“Okay, seriously, though, I'm all for it, it's just-”

“Funny, huh?” She smiled daring him to laugh at her some more.

“Yeah, good luck, man.”

“You're gonna die, Josh. That's not something to laugh about.”

“I've made my peace with it. I don't wanna fight or stress about finding solutions. I just have a sliver of hope that she'll change her mind, but I know that she won't. So, I want to live out the rest of my days doing what I like.”

“Mm, not me, dude.” She sighed and pressed her crossed arms closer to her body, squeezing her hoodie. “I would've fought hard, I would've done everything I could. And then if nothing worked, I would've still tried every crazy idea that would come to mind.”

“Like what?”

“I dunno, finding another evil witch and make them fight or something? Like, pick your player. Or, I dunno, go on TV or something. Make youtube videos of my transformation, go viral, let people know.”

“No way!” He smiled, but his eyes were appalled.

“I can think of at least five iconic vines that could come out of this. Go wild!”

“I hate being on a screen. Can't stand the idea of people seeing me from around the world.”

“You don't like social media then?”

“No. I don't even have facebook.”

“Wow, how's that not a recluse?”

He exhaled through his teeth in a half laugh, meaning that he disagreed but didn't have anything to say to that.

“So, let me think about it, if you don't want to yourself, maybe I'll find something, who knows?”

“Sure, man, whatever. Knock yourself out.”

“There's still time till June, so maybe we can come up with something. You have friends, you have a girlfriend, I'm sure they wouldn't want you to die. Heck, we just met yesterday and I don't want you to die, either.”

He bent down to fiddle with shoe laces and looked at her. “Thanks, but... Maybe you just need more friends,” he gently taunted her with his soft voice and smiled coyly.

She glared at him, and he giggled.

 


	5. Chapter 5

 

The lobster was amazerbeans. Harold prepared three ginormous crustaceans in the oven with olive oil, lemon juice, and herbs, a simple but such a delicious recipe. There was also rice with some sort of sauce poured over it, and steamed veggies with garlic, olive oil and lemon juice. It all had a Mediterranean flair complete with garlic bread and hummus. It was so good that Katie started to fear for her figure if Harold continued to spoil her with his cooking.

Over dinner, the two men got a lot more talkative than the day before. Josh continued telling about his life, and Harold shared his insight and experience living in this house. Katie learned that Josh's mother was never “motherly”: she was always aloof and never cared about him. He himself tried very hard to win her love by being the best in school, participating in all kinds of extracurricular activities, volunteering, and doing house work even though they had several maids back then. His mother suddenly left the house one day right before his seventeenth birthday, and that's when he turned into the beast the first time. She picked up the phone finally after a week of him calling her constantly, and said that it was soon time for him to give back what she gave him.

Ever since he was little, she let him know that he wouldn't live long. The fact that she'll steal his life for herself was something he'd deduced from bits and pieces of what she'd told him over the years. She was never hostile to him, though, she was just indifferent, and that was the most heartbreaking thing for him.

Harold was hired by Josh a month after living in his house completely alone. His mother was nice enough to leave a good amount of money on his bank account so he didn't starve to death until the day she would harvest the fruit of her efforts. Josh was still on the brink when Harold came over, though. He was depressed, lonely, bare bones from not eating, no food whatsoever in the house, and a complete mess everywhere. It took Harold a while to tidy everything up and nurse Josh back to health. Netflix and video games actually helped Josh get out of depression little by little. Together, they revived the garden, and continue to plant pretty things around the property, going beyond the front and the back yards. Although, they're not sure what's gonna become of them once Josh is no longer alive. Harold is going to move out, and the house will stay empty.

Katie was amazed how Josh's death was pretty much a given, like he was sick with a terminal illness, and no one could do anything about it other than make plans around it. There wasn't a sense of somber sorrow or bitter resentment coming from either of them. Their relation of Josh's dying had “well, this is life” kind of vibe, and it was so painfully wrong that Katie wanted to jump and flip the table. She was boiling with hatred for the woman that could be this cruel, but she was keeping it all inside.

Her own mother wasn't the most affectionate parent, though, and she always suspected that she didn't love Katie. But hearing this sort of thing made all of those suspicions fly out the window. Her mother worked till she dropped so that her kids had the best life and could go to the best colleges. The fridge was always full of food, the house was always clean, and they always got presents on Christmas and their birthdays.

Josh, on the other hand, had never, ever in his life received a single present from his mother. She never even bought him clothes or toys personally. It was always some maid that took pity on him and would buy him something with her own money.

Katie went home upset and frustrated. Ignoring her homework, she dived deep into google and searched through blogs, forums, articles, websites, videos, whatever she could find on witchcraft. She didn't know anything about the topic other than what the media portrayed, which was mostly fairy tales.

The two hours she spent on her laptop that evening didn't give her anything useful, however. The information she found was very superficial and was mostly about spells for good luck, health, luring men (which made her chuckle, if you know what you're doing you don't need any magic), but nothing about turning people into beasts or extending one's life by killing another. At the end of her search, she learned that there was a lot more to magic than the more common “white” magic. There was “black” magic (this was the official name of it) of a higher order also, that wasn't revealed that easily to the uninitiated, and that there were special rituals that were necessary for people to get into that world. The ritual basically entailed selling one's soul, literally. There was also a “gift” or “affinity” for the dark arts required to be successful, and it often ran in families.

It all got so scary it gave her shivers, even more so because she came face to face with the reality of black magic in Josh's mansion. It existed, and it was pure evil.

When she was laying in bed, she thought about the information she found. It wasn't stated explicitly, but she got the feeling that black magic relied on demonic powers, at least from the introductory search she did. She remembered that Josh would always say a prayer before dinner, was that his way of defying his mother? He never spoke about his faith, and the only time she was aware of it was when he'd mumble something under his nose, what she'd assume to be prayer. Maybe, him believing in God helped him come to terms with his death, hoping that his soul at least could be saved? But it was still so messed up. No human, she thought, would accept sure death without agony. Perhaps, over time he could get used to the idea, but fear of death was a natural thing, especially once it drew near. She herself experienced it firsthand the other day.

Her sleep was restless, shallow, and she kept hearing voices as if there was a crowd of people in her room. In the morning, she was sure she'll start praying herself by the end of all this.

She did believe in God, but never went to church or prayed. Her house had one cross in her mom's bedroom, and her mother only said it once to her that God was real. After that, Katie was on her own in terms of spirituality.

But now, learning about the evil magic and seeing proof of the existence of the powers beyond the physical made her starkly aware of the fact that God existed, too, and that there was so much spiritual stuff going on here on earth without her knowledge. It felt like she just scratched the surface.

Moving on autopilot through her morning routine, she went to school deep in thought.

“Katie,” called a deep man's voice from a foot above her ears, and her head turned with the speed of sound towards the source. It was Andrew, the football team captain.

It was a fair assessment that Andrew was the most desirable man in the entire school. He was six three, blonde with kind blue eyes and a perpetual soft smile on his face. He was nice to everyone, never expected anything bad from people and thus was always open and honest with them. He was a responsible captain who inspired his team mates to work hard and love the rewards, and everyone in the team adored him.

Besides that, he was incredibly handsome. He had what you can call the perfect man's body and a good looking face. He was still eighteen, so with age he would get only more muscular.

Katie, however, never dated him. She stayed away from him, dating other boys in the team, and she didn't stop and think about why that was, it just happened. She never even considered him for a partner.

She approached him when he called her name, standing near a wall and looming over the passing students. He waved at her to follow him away from the crowds into an empty hallway where all the ESL classes had been vacated. They went around the bend in the hallway and stopped in the middle.

“What's up?” she asked.

“Um..,” he started, gathering his thoughts looking at the floor. Then he looked at her with a concerned expression. “Were you going to ask me out?”

She lifted her eyebrows and blinked. “Me? No. Why?”

He got even more concerned, and looked back down, frowning. “Someone said that you were planning to ask me out this Friday.”

She paused, considering the information. “Why… Where did they get that from? That's obviously not true.”

“Hmm, strange,” he said.

He went quiet with hands on his hips, and Katie didn't want to speak up to let him think.

“Okay,” he finally replied and straightened up, giving her cues that the conversation was over. “I'll find out who it was and what they want.”

“Alright.”

“Thanks!” He waved at her and started walking away.

“No problem,” she yelled back, and he turned halfway around to give her a polite smile.

That was weird. She had enough on her plate already, she really didn't need to be involved in another silly school drama.

She fixed her backpack on her shoulders and walked to her car.

***

Alana was laying across Katie's bed on her back, taking selfies with the new makeup Katie got from Sephora. Katie was going through her wardrobe, judging every piece of clothing if she'd wear it again or not.

Even though Alana was her best friend, Katie still couldn't describe her in a sentence. She was… unique. She had a round face with huge brown eyes that emphasized her pale skin and curly dark hair which she always kept neat. Her personality was _emotional_ , that's the only word Katie could say about her. Alana loved cute and sentimental things, and she herself behaved and spoke in a cute way, that Katie thought for sure was deliberate but it didn't matter because she was her bestie, and you don't judge your bestie. Besides, Katie herself behaved in deliberate ways too often.

Alana's preferences changed like the wind. She was never consistent, and it was about everything, from foods, to makeup, to personal style, to study subjects, to the meaning of life. Every week she'd be into something new and hate everything she was into before, and she would act like it was the most normal thing and everyone would be in on what she liked, because, obviously, it was what everyone liked, too.

It was the same about boys. One thing she had in common with Katie was the superficial relationships she had had over the years, but it was for a different reason. Katie was attracted to tall muscular and manly boys, but Alana was just “trying out” her new preferences with the new type of guy. Even for Katie, that was a little worrying. In all the years she knew Alana, though, she learned to just let her do her thing, because it was useless to talk sense into this girl.

“So, what's up with you lately?” Alana asked, concentrating very hard on the best angle of the picture.

“What do you mean?” Katie didn't even look at her, she was too busy decluttering her closet.

“You've been kinda distracted.”

“Distracted?”

“Yeah. You've been busy with something at home, and even in school you're always deep in thought, and I would bet fifty bucks it's not about school.” She looked at her friend pointedly, but Katie didn't turn to her to see it.

“Oh, was I?”

“Yeah. You even wouldn't hear your name called. I noticed it several times. I saw you coming out of the Drawing class and called you, but you didn't hear. Then there was a teacher calling you, and you were, like, in your own little world. What's going on with you?”

“Ah, it's nothing. I'm just preoccupied with something.”

Alana rolled over to lay on her belly and face Katie. “Is it a boy?”

Katie sharply turned to her, frowning. “What?”

Alana raised her eyebrows and gasped softly. “It _is_ a boy!”

“What? No, there's no boy… Well, uh, there is, but he's just a friend.” Katie went back to piling up the jeans for Goodwill.

“Oooooh, just a friend, huh? He sure is one distracting friend.”

Katie glanced at her quickly. “Um, he has family problems, and I was just thinking on how to help him.”

“Hmmm, good girl Katie Blois wanting to help a friend in need so much so that she can't pay attention in class.”

“Dude, he's not even my type. And I _do_ pay attention in class! Plus he has a girlfriend.”

“Oh no! A girlfriend!” She said with sarcasm. “So, introduce me to your _friend_. Is he from our school?”

“No, he's not in school.”

“An older guy? Very nice!”

“Dude, drop it, I said I'm not attracted to him. But he has a messed up situation at home, it's really bad.”

“Wow, really?! What kinda situation?”

“His mother hates him.”

“Oh my gosh! Sounds awful! So how did you meet him?”

“Um…” Katie didn't actually prepare a fake story to answer this question in case it was ever asked. “I just… met him in the woods.”

“You met him in the woods?”

“Yeah…”

Katie never told Alana about Caleb breaking into her house and her running away from him.

“I was… trespassing on his property, and I thought he would get upset, but he invited me into his house, and we… played video games…”

Alana stared at her with a worried expression, and Katie laughed.

“I swear it's not as bad as it sounds!”

“Katie, I can't believe you did that! You broke a law, and then you just walked into a stranger's house? That's like the height of being stupid! What if he did something to you?”

“No, no, he's harmless!”

“Oh my gosh, what would I do if he locked you up in his basement or something?”

Katie laughed, “He'd never do that. He's a good person.”

“Okay, whatever you say. Just be careful.”

“Yes ma'am.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow Alana's such an airhead in this chapter. It didn't sound as bad in my head.  
> Imagine how much she'd flip once she finds out that Katie's new friend is her super rich neighbor lmao


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Changed the rating from Teen to Mature.

 

The next two days she concentrated on researching Josh's case a little further. She made sure to prioritize her school work, however, because that was important, too. But she still didn't give it the usual amount of time and effort.

There still wasn't much she could find about the particular rituals. There was a lot of lore, crazy rumors, scary stories, free spells, recipes, and whatnot, but nothing useful. There were even schools and certificates given out in various things related to magic and new age-y sounding things. Katie thought that she will need to change her research strategy soon, and she wasn't sure where else she should seek the information. It turned out to be harder than she thought to even find out what Josh's mother did to him exactly.

Josh's friends, including Chuck, were coming over to his house to hang out, eat, and play games, and Josh invited Katie as well. He had two best friends, and he'd love them both to meet her. Katie was hoping to meet his girlfriend, too, because she was curious to see what kind of girl would date him. And, perhaps, what kind of girl he'd choose, since he was prettier than every girl in Katie's high school. She must really be drop dead gorgeous.

She drove through the iron gate on her Nissan, and slowly went down the winding road with tall live oaks leaning over it from both sides. Soon, she saw the gray house, illuminated by the evening sun from the front, and even though it seemed a lot friendlier to her now, it was still a pretty creepy place. The house desperately needed a limestone face lift, for starters.

She drove around the right side of the house where the five car garage was and parked between Josh's red Tesla and Harold's Lexus on the pavement. She got out, grabbed a large colorful paper bag she'd prepared, and walked along the garages and to the little side gate in the front courtyard fence. There was a small stone path that led from there to the front door diagonally between rose bushes and crape myrtles that still had no leaves on them.

Harold greeted her at the door with a smile.

He gasped, “Is that a gift,” seeing the bag in her arm full of something probably nice.

She looked at it, grinning, and then back at him. “Cookies!”

“My! Cookies?”

“I baked them. Coconut macaroons.”

He accepted the bag, pleasantly surprised, and invited her in. “Boy, this is a lot of cookies, young lady!”

“Yeah, they're for everyone.”

He took them to the kitchen, and Katie went over to the game room. Josh's figure was looming over the pile of junk on the floor, as he was standing upright fixing something on the ceiling. With his arms stretched above his head, he was easily over twice her height. She jerked a little when she saw him, but played it cool. Nope, she'll never get used to his turned form.

She looked closer at what he was doing, and noticed more wires going through the hook on the ceilings for VR headsets. He was getting ready for company.

“Hey,” she said.

Josh turned to her and immediately lowered his body, hunching over to his regular position, shrinking significantly. It was almost like magic how much smaller he could make himself seem with mere posture. But also, it made it clear that he could make himself look absolutely terrifying if he wanted to.

“Hey, Katie,” he managed a small toothy smile. “Now we have four VR headsets all attached to one system.”

“Nice! What game will we play?”

“Oh, that's up to Chuck, his games are so rad! He said he'll bring a good one.”

“Cool. I brought cookies.”

“Cookies?”

“Yeah.”

Josh pushed away the stuff covering the floor to give more room for people coming over, and Katie sat down on the white leather chair by the wall on the right.

“Like, homemade?”

“Yeah. I baked them.”

He looked at her with a bit of a surprise. “You did?”

“Harold always cooks something when I'm here, I just wanted to reciprocate, a little.”

“Wow, I'm sure he's super excited! I can't remember the last time someone brought him cookies.”

“Then I should bring them more often.” She smiled, and Josh studied her from the side.

“What, I don't look like someone who bakes?”

“You sure don't.”

She pouted, frowning and he chuckled, turning his attention back to his mess of a room.

He crawled over to the VR system at the opposite wall and worked with wires, plugging new ones and unplugging old ones.

She got up from the chair and went to the bathroom to pee and check herself in the mirror before the guests arrive. As she passed by the library, she got a glimpse of the wall of books on the built in shelves. In the bathroom, she wiped off the mascara dust on her cheek, and a thought dawned on her. Maybe she should check out those books for some info? This is a witch's house after all, there probably should be some relevant literature.

When she was done in the bathroom, she walked over to the library right across the entrance room, and stopped at the book shelves, looking over them. She listened for Josh making small noises in the game room with the electronics and Harold being busy in the kitchen, and came closer to the books, reading their titles.

There was the full collection of Encyclopedia Britannica from a few years back, like, literally the fifties. A world geography set. Three shelves dedicated to medicinal plants. Another two about animal species. Music theory. Drawing. Astrology and astronomy practice. Traditional Chinese Medicine text books and reference books. High school biology, physics, chemistry, and math. Lots of classical fiction by well-known authors.

She barely read half of the titles before the doorbell rang. Harold rushed to open the door, and Katie approached the library doorway that led into the entrance room. The front door opened, and she saw two boys enter the house. The first one was Asian, average height and build, and when she saw the second one, her body froze on the spot. He was a super handsome black man with light walnut skin and short hair. His face was good looking, in a manly way with square jaw and a big chin, but his eyes were foxy narrow with bright green eyes that really stood out against his dark skin. He was taller than even Harold, and had the muscular body of a man in his prime.

Katie licked her lips, involuntarily. She felt something grip her stomach, and her entire body turned hot.

The two boys hugged Harold with loud pats on the back, and then Josh came out to greet them.

“Sorry we came a lil early, bro,” said the Asian guy.

“No worries, man.”

They hugged Josh the beast like they've done it a hundred times before, and then turned their attention to Katie.

“This is Katie,” Josh said.

“Hello,” she chirped.

“This is Chuck, who you already met in-game,” he pointed at the Asian guy, “And this is Tyrone,” he pointed to the black guy.

“Sup,” Chuck said, smiling wide. He had short hair that was standing up on the front, and dimples on his cheeks. He was kinda cute.

Tyrone stretched his huge hand, “Tyler, nice to meet you,” he said with the smoothest soothing deep vibrations of Godsent vocal cords, and Katie nearly melted in the warm handshake.

The three boys went to the gameroom, and Katie tagged behind them, unable to speak. Her eyes followed down Tyrone… Tyler's backside along his massive back muscles and the narrow waist with tight buttocks below it. This amount of beef had nothing on her high school boys.

“So, what you got for us this time?” Josh asked Chuck, who didn't let them wait long.

“I got something special today, my friend. It's gonna blow you away. And it's a gift for you, man.”

“For me?” He made a dramatic gasp, “Thank you! What is it?”

“It's called Warriors of the Axure, a new game.”

“Neat!”

Katie watched Josh and his friends being so natural with each other. There was no hesitation or averted gazes between them, it was like they didn't even see the fur, the admittedly oversized baboon fangs that gave him a slight lisp when he spoke, and the body shape of a good country oak wardrobe. Covered in long fur. And besides that he wasn't wearing any pants, either.

They patted him on the back like old friends, gave him fist bumps, and watched his facial expressions to hold normal conversations with him. And for some reason Katie was feeling guilty that she was still weary of him, even if he never gave her any reason to.

Everyone proceeded to sit on the floor with a bunch of snacks and booze prepared by the host, and Chuck sat in the middle to set up the game. Josh sat next to Chuck, Tyler on the other side of Josh, and Katie was given a spot near Chuck. In that configuration, she couldn't see Tyler very well behind Josh, but she heard his voice.

Tyler spoke with ease both with Katie and his buddies. He expressed every emotion that bubbled up in his heart, and it was all kindness and care for others. From the first minutes of knowing him, he seemed to be a great guy.

But, as she put the headset on her head, she was forced to focus on the virtual environment.

She was standing on a ledge of a tall building, that wasn't a typical Earth building. There were in fact many of those structures standing tall like spires with round saucers, probably observation rooms, interrupting their lean and straight reach for the skies. She was on the very top “saucer” of one of these towers, looking down, but she couldn't see the bottom because there was a dense pale fog obscuring what was below.

The towers were all very colorful with lime green, aqua blue, pinks and oranges. The sun was setting on her left, and she saw the rest of her company there, too, on their own towers.

“Hope none of you are scared of heights, man,” Chuck commented, chuckling, “'Coz you wouldn't be able to enjoy the game.”

They all had wings attached to their shoulders. Katie looked around and noticed red with gold wings on herself as well, with shiny iridescent feathers that were fluttering in the wind.

“So, basically, you press a button, and your wings flap and you can fly!”

“Wow!” Said Tyler.

“Pretty neat,” reacted Josh.

The game began with a training sequence with a little blue birdie flying around them and pointing at things on their controls and explaining what they did. Katie was super slow following the instructions – she still had trouble adapting to the controls in virtual reality. And also she just wanted to talk to Tyler and try to get closer to him. But if they were in virtual reality, she could just fly over to him, couldn't she? However, the game looked demanding and visually stimulating, and she didn't want to look weak and slow everyone down.

Before it was finally time for them to try flying, she took a deep breath and decided to play the game for now.

She moved the controls as explained, and her wings spread out like those of a stately eagle. She pushed a button “forward”, and with a powerful push the wings lifted her up off the platform. Smoothly, she soared off the tower, and it took her breath away. Her eyes widened with pure awe. She was flying. This must be what humans had been dreaming of all those thousands of years, and she was doing exactly that!

Her feathers rustled softly in the wind, and she glided between the towers, playing with her controls.

She suddenly realized that she wanted Alana to be there, too, and share this amazing feeling with her.

She looked down, and lowered her path a bit to peer through the fog. She saw tips of trees and other, lower, towers. It was a city that was built among the woods! Like one of those ancient Native American civilizations. It was pretty large, too.

The game began after the short training, and the four were on their epic quest to free the king of their cloud country from an enemy. The citizens weren't actually bird people, they had attachments on their backs with wings, which were granted to them by a benevolent lady “Protectress” who was like a powerful fairy. The creators did a marvelous job at world building and the story, so much so that several hours passed like minutes, and they all forgot about their real life troubles and worries.

There were multiple settings and environments like the magical forest, the mountains, the ocean, and everything was very brightly colored. It was a perfect world where bullies didn't hide among the good guys, and evil was out in the open for all to see and despise. Wouldn't it be great if in real life it was all as clear cut as in games?

When it was time for dinner and everyone removed their headsets, Katie noticed how exhausted she was from just playing the game. She looked at the boys, and they all looked tired, too. It was dark in the room, but Katie glanced at Tyler (over Josh who had turned back) whom she had been aware of the whole game. He was so nice both to her and to his friends, and he smiled and laughed a great deal. He seemed to be easy going and laid back, but still gently caring for everyone's wellbeing.

But, for some reason, Katie subconsciously applied brakes on her usual flirtatiousness. Was that because of her experience with Caleb just a few days ago? Maybe she was apprehensive. But she felt like she needed to get to know him better first, even if from their first meeting he seemed to be quite the catch. Plus, from their in-game convo, she learned that Tyler and Josh were neighbors, so he was probably pretty well off himself, too.

For the late dinner there was homemade pizza, chips and dips, and beer. They gathered in the kitchen around the island sitting on bar stools, and Harold joined them for the pizza. Katie sat near Harold, for some very odd reason being shy and quiet. The only new person to her in this party was Tyler, and he was cool as Alpine snow caps and gorgeous, so there was no need to be that way. Her mind was screaming at her to smile and to loosen up, but she was stiff as an electric pole, politely munching on the smallest piece of pizza and not touching the beer since she was underage.

Well, this was her first time being around people who were a bit older than her. They were so much better than her high school classmates, not exactly more mature, but they felt like they were comfortable with themselves and free from fear of coming across as uncool or not “in” with the times. Perhaps this was why Josh was that way, too, Katie thought, it was just the environment he lived in, not because he was a monster boy.

“So, Katie,” Tyler addressed her, and she almost got a piece of pizza stuck in her throat, “How did y'all meet with Josh? We been friends with him since middle school, but you're a _new friend_ , you know?” He glanced at the said monster boy sitting next to him with a mouth full of the double cheese piece.

“Uh…” She quickly looked at Harold to rescue her, she didn't know what she could and couldn't say.

“Um, well,” Harold began, putting his pizza piece down and looking into the distance as if remembering something that happened long ago. “Katie has been a good girl lately so we decided to let her out of the basement.”

“Yeah, the TV's a lot bigger up here so,” she commented without batting an eye.

Chuck let out a long snort and cackled, almost falling backwards on his bar stool, and Tyler laughed out loud, banging his hand on the table. And Josh, poor Josh turned red and nearly chocked.

Harold, without a hint of a smile, continued the conversation, “Well, actually, the couches down there are a lot more comfortable since they're the only piece of furniture purchased in this century.”

“Sure, but comfy can only get you so far. They didn't have Netflix back in the eighteen hundreds.”

“True-”

“We don't even have a basement!!!” Josh yelled over them talking, and both Harold and Katie got quiet, glancing at each other like mischievous kids, while Chuck and Tyler were shaking with giggles. “Seriously, stop!”

“Sorry, Josh,” Katie apologized.

“You're no fun, dude,” Tyler turned to him with a big smile.

“Minnie prolly wouldn't like jokes like that,” Chuck offered a guess, sending a large roll of pizza into his mouth.

When that name was pronounced, the table became silent to the point that Katie literally heard crickets from the backyard.

“Minnie?” Katie asked, looking around at everyone.

“Josh's girlfriend,” Tyler explained with a serious voice.

Everyone nodded and ate quietly, the laughs and jokes all gone. What was up with Josh's girlfriend?

“Besides,” Josh finally spoke in a normal voice, “That's stereotyping, and stereotyping is a form of discrimination. Beast men lives matter, too.”

“Pff!” Tyler chuckled, “Amen, my dude!”

“Beast men?” Chuck questioned the choice of words.

Josh looked at him, loudly swallowing his beer and not offering any alternatives.

“A wereyeti.” Katie said quietly, looking down at her piece.

“A wereyeti!” Josh pointed at her and snickered.

“A what?” Chuck asked.

“A wereyeti, dude,” Tyler replied, shaking with laughs. “It's perfect!”

“I know, right?” Josh kept giggling, “After three years I finally know what I am.”

“Too sad, man, couldn't come up with that yourself,” Chuck teased.

“Yeah, too busy moping around, I guess.”

“Well done,” Harold congratulated her, and her face stretched with a wide grin.

After that, Katie relaxed a bit and acted normally, and the two guests asked about the real story how she and Josh met, and where she was from. She told them the story of how she met Josh in the woods, again, omitting the part about running away from her house to escape her ex, and then Josh invited her in.

Chuck and Tyler both turned to Josh for an explanation, who was finishing up the end crust dipped in cheese sauce. He lifted his eyebrows and didn't say anything, why wouldn't a wereyeti invite a lady who was trespassing on his property over for tea and dinner?

The two of them then looked at Katie, and she also raised her eyebrows and gave them an innocent smile.

“Ah, actually, it was me who invited her in,” Harold came to the rescue, and it wasn't a lie. “I think she must have gotten lost, so I drove her back home after some good warm dinner.”

Katie looked at Harold as at her savior, but Chuck squinted at her dramatically, like he wasn't buying it.

“The woods are so large, it's easy to get lost! I was jogging, and then I went somewhere I wasn't supposed to.”

“Scared me,” Josh mumbled, and everyone laughed.

Everyone were done with their pieces, and Harold took the three empty pizza baking dishes to the sink. He next placed the bowl with Katie's cookies in the middle to everyone's cheers. They were delicious!

All while everyone was laughing and talking, ever since coming up with Josh's _official scientific name_ , Katie kept going back in her mind to the library in this house, trying to remember the book titles. She didn't go over the entire book shelf, and there were some books without visible titles. But what kinds of books should she even look for?

“Can You Live a Hundred More Years? The Answer Will Shock You!”  
“Handbook of Murder from a Distance.”  
“How to Be a Royal B@#$&.”  
“Self-Help for Lovely Lonely Witches with a Guilty Conscience.”  
“MILF with a Bloody Knife! Why Endure Their Tantrums When You Can Simply Steal Their Life Force and Gain Eternal Youth! It's a Win-Win!”  
“Abra-Cadabra! Oops, Honey, I Killed Our Kid!”

“Katie,” Josh called, and she looked at him. “What's up? You got quiet all of a sudden.”

“Oh,” she started, and slowly crushed the cookie between her teeth that she didn't even realize she was eating. What number this cookie was again? How many did she eat already? “Um…”

“She's still tryna figure out how she got lost among three pines,” Tyler teased with a side smile and a chuckle.

Josh kept staring at her waiting for a reply, he knew something was up. She held her gaze on him, deciding whether to talk about what she was thinking with everybody else.

“Uh, about your library…”

“The _library_? What about the library?”

The guest boys got quiet, listening to the conversation, and Harold was searching through the wet bar for something, also listening in.

“Um… The books in it.”

“Yeah, that's kinda what a library is.”

“I'd like to take a look at them, if you don't mind. I mean, when we're done eating, or maybe another day.”

“Are you serious?” He sighed and scratched the back of his head.

“Sure am.”

Chuck and Tyler sipped their beer, and their eyes were going back and forth between the two, completely clueless.

“Is it too late to kinda… talk you out of it?”

“Why would you wanna talk me out of it?”

He looked directly at her with a serious expression. “Because you'll get hurt.”

She shrugged with one shoulder and bit into the cookie she determined should be the last.

Chuck frowned and he looked at Tyler, who shook his head and sighed, “This girl.”

Josh gave a short snort, “You guys don't even know what we're talking about.”

“No, dude, we don't,” Chuck complained.

The two looked at Katie for an explanation.

“I wanna find a way to break Josh's spell.” She said.

All sounds suddently muted at the table. There was no one chewing or drinking, nobody moved a muscle.

“And help him not die.”

They paused. They stared. And they realized too many things in the seconds after that sentence was pronounced.

Tyler glanced at Josh and Chuck and leaned on his elbows on the table. The atmosphere changed instantly. “So, you're saying, you wanna save him?”

“I guess. Just didn't wanna sound so dramatic.”

“Heck, that is dramatic alright, but how do you plan on doing that?”

“Um, right now I just want to research everything about what happened to him, and then go from there.”

Tyler looked at Harold frowning, as if reproaching him for not stopping her.

“Why are you looking at me? This is the first I heard of it! My goodness, Katie! That's not something a regular person can do!”

She turned to him with eyes full of resolve, “You never know until you try. We're talking about someone's life here. I think deserves at least some kinda attempt, even if it's weak.”

Tyler and Chuck didn't have anything to say to that, but they looked like they disagreed.

Josh became worried. He kept quiet, holding back his reproaches, but his body language said it all.

On that note, the dinner was over. The guest boys helped clean the table of trash and dirty dishes, and Katie took the leftover cookies to the fridge. There were heavy feelings in the air, the voices were hushed, and nobody cracked jokes or even smiled. Katie felt like she was the one at fault for ruining everyone's mood, but she didn't regret it. Why should she feel guilty for doing something good?

After the kitchen table was cleared, Chuck and Tyler left the house in a hurry, and Josh saw them off with his hands crossed and in a bad mood. When Katie approached the front door to follow them, Josh stopped her touching her arm with the back of his hand. When she gave him full attention, he crossed his arms again, standing with his back to the dark library.

“I thought you were joking when you said you were gonna look into it.”

She grimaced to mean that it was his own fault to assume that she was kidding.

“You need to stop. This isn't something to play around with.”

“Why's that? Didn't you say it yourself that if she doesn't know what's going on, she won't do anything.”

“No, but if you succeed, she'll take your life instead. I mean, it wouldn't be ideal,” he looked away, rolling his eyes, “I'm her little pet project after all.” He looked back at Katie, “But it's a distinct possibility. You can't stop her.”

Katie smiled at “distinct possibility” and her posture became relaxed. “Does that mean that success _is_ possible?”

He sighed and looked up at the ceiling, his patience was running out.

“Do you see what she did to me? She turned me into a monster! Her own son! Imagine what she can do to you – a complete stranger! She'll most definitely do something to you in retribution, there's no doubt! Even if you don't succeed, then just for snooping around her stuff. She is no joke!.. I just can't stand by and let you do this.”

“Geez, okay, I won't touch your freaking library. But I wanna decide for myself what I'm getting into.”

“Oh my God, you're so stubborn! I'm saying drop it! Completely! Not just my library, that includes every other library.”

She frowned and looked at him from the side, he couldn't just tell her what to do. She turned and headed for the door.

“Hey!”

She looked back at him, the embodiment of defiance.

“You're not thinking about becoming a witch yourself, are you?”

She turned to him and crossed her arms. “I'm not.”

“Good.”

“Good,” she repeated, turned back around, and left.

If anything, Josh talking to her like that only made her wanna do it even more.

  



	7. Chapter 7

 

The next day, Josh texted her when she was in her first class.

J>> Hey, I'm sorry about the way I acted yesterday, it was uncool. I got so worried I said stuff without thinking.

She didn't reply for two hours. She was kinda mad, and also busy with tests and assignments that piled up with her doing the side research.

K>> No worries, I understand.

J>> You're still going to do the research?

K>> What do you think?

J>> Please don't!

K>> I'm gonna. If something happens to me, I take all the responsibility.

J>> Ur a minor, so you legally can't do that.

K>> Legally, you can't bear any responsibility for harm done magically by another person.

J>> Then personal responsibility.

K>> Okay, then I take all personal responsibility.

She went to class and checked her phone when she went to lunch.

J>> You know, I'm already prepared for whatever will happen to me. That's fine, it's cool, I guess that's my fate. But if I let my friends get hurt because of me, that's not fine. It would be worse than dying. So, you can't take responsibility for something I'll be guilty of my entire life. I don't want to live in a world where-

“Katie,” called a voice almost into her ear, and she quickly glanced at who it was who so rudely interrupted her reading important texts. It was Andrew, and she saw Caleb standing behind him. Her mood was ruined right there.

“What do you want,” she said quickly, holding her phone at text reading position to let them know that she would really like to go back to what she was doing.

“Uh, can we talk to you for some time? It's important.”

These words meant one thing – drama. She could swear she was starting to get an allergy to it.

They took her to an empty classroom, and Andrew looked around and locked the door from the inside. She didn't feel comfortable being locked in the same room with Caleb, so she stood a good ten feet away from him. Andrew walked back to where Caleb was by the teacher's desk, and stared at her to approach them for the conversation. She glanced at Caleb and didn't move from the spot near the corner of student desks closest to the door.

“I'm fine right here. What's up?”

Andrew reached with his hand for his phone in his jean pocket, but looked at Caleb, and then at Katie, and stopped.

“What's going on between you two?”

Caleb looked out the window.

“Nothing much, he just came to my house the other day, angry after our breakup, and scared me to death, so I had to run away from my own house. A neighbor took me in, so I stayed there until my mom got home.”

“Wait, are you serious?” Andrew turned Caleb, who looked like he disagreed.

“I wasn't gonna do anything to you, man, stop saying crazy stuff about me,” he said.

“I'm only saying what happened. You scared me, and I ran. That's the truth. Now I don't ever want to see your face.”

Andrew looked at him, frowning, but didn't say anything to him in front of Katie. Caleb stayed quiet.

“I'm sorry that happened, Katie. He's sorry. Caleb, say you're sorry.”

Caleb sighed, “I'm sorry.”

“There. He won't do it again, so you don't have to stay so far away.”

Slowly, she approached with her hands clasping the phone at her hips, clicking her heels.

Andrew pulled his phone out and scrolled up to something.

“So, this picture has been circulating lately around Facebook.”

She peeked at his phone, and Andrew turned it to show her. It was blurry, but it was a picture of a girl kneeling in front of a standing guy, but what they were doing was obstructed by some bushes. After taking a better look, she saw that the guy was Andrew.

“And this was a picture taken the same day.”

He scrolled down, and it was her going down the school entrance stairs. She was wearing the same clothes as the girl in the first photo.

“What do you think of this?”

“Photoshop.”

“I know, right?”

“Hmm, they even made sure the light on your face was coming from the right direction. It's a pretty skillful job. I wonder where they got a picture of me kneeling.”

“There's a reason the picture is blurry, they could've just pasted your clothes on top of the girl's.”

“Hmm, that's true.”

Andrew put his phone away. “Apparently, this picture's from last semester, from when you were still dating Caleb, and it started a rumor that you were cheating on him with me.”

“Oh.” She side eyed Caleb, look who probably believed it. It all made sense. Caleb heard the rumor and started suspecting her, and then changed his behavior and became possessive and suspicious. Maybe he didn't believe it completely, but was just trying to be careful. She could've been cheating with someone else since Andrew just wouldn't do something like this to one of his teammates.

Caleb didn't seem to get this yet, however. He was always a bit slow.

“And also that thing when someone told me you were gonna ask me out, like a couple days after breaking up with Caleb.”

“Oh yeah, that's right!” She pointed her index finger at him, remembering that weird part.

“I think, and this is just my theory, but someone's trying to sabotage my friendship with Caleb, and they're using you.”

“Not the first time.”

Her phone was buzzing with texts, probably from Josh who was pouring out his soul, and she was getting impatient.

“So, I just want you to tell Caleb here, definitely, that nothing happened between us.”

“Look, I may have a bad reputation in our school and all, but I never cheated on my exes.”

“See?” Andrew said to Caleb, who was starting to think about it.

“I mean, if I find someone better, I can always just break up with my boyfriend and go for the other guy.”

They both looked at her, and she realized what she said sounded pretty terrible. But she didn't care.

“So,” she said coldly, “If we cleared this up, can I go now?”

“Uh,” Andrew uttered and looked at Caleb.

She looked at him a little annoyed. No matter how handsome Andrew was, she had stuff to do.

“Well, we were hoping… I was hoping that you could help us snuff out this person who's messing with us.”

“Pass.”

“Wait, hear our plan first, please.” He glanced at Caleb. “We got a major game coming up with a rival school, and it's our last year playing, so we kinda were hoping to go big and hopefully win. I think that someone's trying to sabotage our team, ruin our team morale, and basically make us lose probably. Or it may be related to something else, I'm not sure.”

“So. What's the plan?”

“We, you and I, admit that the picture is real.”

“What!?”

“Um, we would act like we're dating, and like, Caleb can act all hurt and upset, which he's pretty good at as you said.”

Caleb scoffed and rolled his eyes.

“And then the person who started the rumors would eventually come out to rub it in our faces. But when the game comes, everything's as usual, Caleb and I are cool, and we win the game!”

She looked to the side, thinking about how much of a hassle that would be, and how far fetched it was.

“Mmm, no thanks,” was her answer.

Caleb started to pay attention. He got all serious and his brain wheels began to turn. He frowned and looked at the floor, thinking, and then looked back at her, studying her.

Andrew was a bit taken aback by her refusal. Even if her reputation wasn't that great, did he just assume she'd jump at the slightest opportunity to be fake lovers with him?

After a pause, Katie said, “So, if there's nothing else you guys wanna talk about, I need to go.”

“Uh, sure, yeah, thanks for hearing me out,” Andrew replied, and Katie registered it in her mind that he sounded a bit sad, but didn't give it much thought.

“Okay, see ya around,” she said, and left the room.

She took a deep breath and opened her messages again, walking to the cafeteria. There were four new texts from Josh and two from Alana.

J>> You know, I'm already prepared for whatever will happen to me. That's fine, it's cool, I guess that's my fate. But if I let my friends get hurt because of me, that's not fine. It would be worse than dying. So, you can't take responsibility for something I'll be guilty of all my life. I don't want to live in a world where a friend was no more. Sorry, but I'm ready to fight you for it.

She sighed, looking up at the ceiling. He was making sense, but she didn't want him to feel like that. Nothing was gonna happen to her for just reading about the stuff. What if there was a safe way to undo the curse? It doesn't hurt to get some info. She did consider just going to that horrible woman and putting a bullet in her head, that'd solve a lot of problems. But nah, a fantasy's a fantasy.

She read further.

J>> But, if you still wanna continue, let me see if I can come up with something.

Oh, finally!

J>> We have another library in our house actually, and it's a real one, that one by the front door is just a study. I can take a look at what we have there and maybe give you homework? Would that work?

J>> Oh, man, you're busy in school, how are you even managing school work and now this?

J>> I can also ask my girlfriend, their house has an even bigger library. She's also somewhat knowledgeable about this stuff. If she's gonna look into it herself, then no harm will come to you.

J>> Man, sorry about all these texts. Ttyl

She smiled – he finally agreed to help her! Even though it was her trying to help him in the first place!

K>> Now you're talking, Josh! I'd love to get this kind of homework! Gives me a break from Physics and History! But you're right, I don't have that much time to do it, but I'll do my best!

K>> And I'd like to meet your girlfriend! You said it yourself that I need more friends lol.

J>> LMAO, so, like 90% of your friends are through me, a recluse in the woods. Kinda sad if you think about it.

K>> Shut up! People at my school are just lame. Not my fault.

J>> Riiiight

K>> :C

“Katie!” she heard Alana's voice and shuddered, because Alana said it too loud and with urgency. What now, she though.

Alana jumped and hugged her tightly, swaying her back and forth. “Where have you been! I saved a table for us!”

“Sorry, was busy with something. And thank you! Man, I'm so tired and hungry, I can eat an entire cow.”

“Wow! That would be… a lot of meat!”

“Yeah. What did you get?”

Alana started complaining about the school lunch again, and Katie zoned out while getting her own food, thinking about Andrew, Josh and his girlfriend, and the fact that she didn't have any friends besides this silly girl, who by some fluke became her bestie. How did that even happen? How do people even get friends?

She was positive that the entire school hated her. So, there was no use for her to even try.

She passed a table with a group of girls who watched her go, and then whispered and laughed amongst themselves as she passed them.

A boy was walking towards her, he smiled and said hello. He always did that when he'd meet her in the hallway, maybe he wants to be friends? He was tall, but average build, so she always dismissed him. Maybe he was even kinda cute. He had curly dark hair and beauty marks all over his tan skin.

“Hi,” she said back for the first time, and he gave her the biggest happy grin. That lifted her spirits.

The girls at the table she just passed snorted and laughed at that, but they were all far behind Katie for her to see what was going on or care.

“Wow, they're such jerks,” said Alana, frowning and doing her signature cute pout.

“Ignore them, they're just bored.”

“But still, you did nothing wrong, but people still hate you.”

“Got so many more important things to worry about.”

Alana stuck her (biodegradable) straw from her water cup (not biodegradable) into her mouth and smiled.

“Like that boy in the woods? What's his name?”

“Oh, you're still on about that? I told you, we're friends. His name is Josh.”

“Josh, okay.”

“Oh my gosh, but he got this black friend who's totally hot!”

Alana's face fell, and she pouted, sucking on the straw.

“What?”

She looked at Katie from under her eyebrows. “You know I don't have anything against black boys.” She drew circles on the table top with her index finger gently. “But I kinda like Josh.”

“Heh, you date him, then. He's got a girlfriend, though.”

“No,” she giggled in her usual childish girlish laugh, “I meant for you!”

“Why? You haven't even met him?”

“Because ever since I knew you, you never cared about a single living being this much.”

“Well, he's a _real_ friend. Like you… Although, I don't think he's my best friend yet. But we're pretty close still.”

“Oh my gosh!” Alana bent backwards and let out a grunt of frustration.

“What? A guy and a girl can totally be friends. Doesn't have to be anything between them. And to be honest, I like it this way. I'm getting tired of dating and stuff. With him, I'm myself, and I'm like, in sweats and no makeup, and he doesn't treat me any different.”

“Wow, no way! The transformation!” She waved her hands around her face in circles to mean the dramatic change a girl's appearance undergoes after removing makeup.

“Yeah, I guess my transformation didn't shock him as much.”

“Sounds amazing! I could only dream about a boyfriend like that.” She put her head on her elbow on the table, assuming a dreaming position.

“Too bad he's not available.”

“Hmm,” she chuckled, “So, when are you going to introduce us? He's like, your other bestie, right?”

Katie smiled, “Sure, I'll ask him. But like I said, he's not a bestie exactly.”

“Okay, okay.”

  



	8. Chapter 8

 

Josh was pruning a peach tree in the backyard under the LED lights installed throughout the grounds so that he could work in the evenings. There was a stray cat rubbing against his ankles and watching what he was doing, and another one was sitting on the porch licking its mouth after being fed grain free organic cat food.

His phone rang, he answered it, and continued pruning, holding the phone with his shoulder.

“Hey,” he said.

“Hey,” Minnie answered.

“How are you?”

“Same old. Busy, tired, ready to shoot someone.”

He chuckled, “Take it easy there, if they call me to court to testify, imma say it was all your fault.”

She laughed softly and sadly. “So, what's up?”

“Haven't seen you in forever, was just wondering when you'd be able to come over.”

“M, I dunno. You know how my schedule is…”

“Yeah, I know. It's just, it's been like a month.”

“Oh, has it been that long? It feels like it was last week.” She sighed into the phone, speaking quietly almost in a whisper.

“No, yeah, more like four weeks.”

“No way.”

He snipped a small branch off the main trunk and if fell on the ground, scaring the cat below.

“Sorry, Josh. We still have time until June. It's just… I'm afraid I'll only be able to see you after this semester ends in May.”

“I'll only be able to see you in May? You gotta have breaks, Minnie, it's unhealthy to work so much.”

“No, I know, I do get breaks. I watch Netflix and stuff.”

“We could watch together.”

“Sorry, I need to recuperate first before I see you. I'm so emotionally drained right now that I can't be any help to you-”

“Help?”

“Yes, I want to help you, be there for you, but right now I'm just not emotionally available.” She sighed and continued talking through Josh's stupor. “I can't imagine what you must be going through right now, but I promise, I'll be there for you in May and June. We can go somewhere if you want.”

“Uh… Sure, going somewhere would be nice. But I don't need any emotional help… I mean, I'm pretty happy and chill, and I'm not going through anything, just pruning some peaches over here and feeding my cats.”

“Yeah, but summer's getting close, and it will be your last… You must be feeling anxious and scared!”

“Not in particular. The only thing is I feel guilty for is getting life insurance. Knowing the day I die is kinda cheating… And it'll be sad saying goodbye to everyone. Other than that, I'm pretty okay, considering.”

“No way, I would've been terrified! Angry! Upset…”

“I'm not, though. So, you don't need to be emotionally available for me. We can just hang out, and I'll have all the emotional support available for you, since it sounds like you need it.”

She chuckled, and said, dejected, “Thanks, but how would you know what it's like to take eighteen hours of college science?”

“I may not know it, but there's this thing called hugs, and they are applicable to virtually every situation, and the only situation they're not applicable in is if you have a fear of hugs, which would be really unfortunate.”

She chuckled louder with sadness in her voice. “I don't think a hug will help me.”

“We can go to the club and get drunk?”

“Oh no,” she laughed, “I can't afford a hangover right now!”

“Well, maybe that's not such a good idea. Last time I got drunk, woke up in the morning at some guy's place in the morning… Imagine his face when he saw me turned. I think he's not gonna touch a bottle ever in his life. Good thing Chuck was there, acting like there wasn't an oversized gorilla in the house. He made it _so_ much worse for the poor dude.”

She exhaled through her nose, slightly amused.

“We can play a board game, cards, go for a walk around the lake, you can help me in the garden, it's so relaxing. There are a ton of things to do! If you let me be there for you, too. Emotional support is supposed to go both ways.”

“Sure, but your case is so much worse than mine.”

“And yet you can't spare a Saturday night for the lil old me?”

She sighed. “No, I can't. I think… I just need a break.”

He paused. He didn't expect her to go there, so he had to gather his thoughts.

“You think?”

“Yeah. I'm sorry.”

He took a few moments, deciding whether to say it or not. “Okay… I actually had a hunch it was going in that direction.”

She didn't answer right away. “You did?”

“Yeah. Ever since last summer, I knew our relationship was cooling off. I've only seen you a handful of times since then. And I just don't buy the school overload excuse anymore… If you gotta recharge watching Netflix by yourself, then what do you even need me for? And then you say that you only wanna come to be there for me and help me like I'm some abused animal. You know, mentally, I'm probably the healthiest person around here. I'm chill. I play games, I go out, I hang out with my friends. I eat Alfred's amazing food, and plus he's really entertaining. I don't need help like that. I just wanted to see you.”

She sighed but didn't say anything.

“So, I'm gonna say this now, do you want to break it off for good? Because it sounded like you asking for a break was a sort of a compromise. I don't need that. If you don't feel it anymore, then why keep tryna milk it?”

“… I'm glad you understand.”

He closed his eyes and leaned on the peach trunk with his extended arm, calming his rising anger with a deep sigh.

“No, I'm sorry, Josh, you're right. I should have been upfront with you sooner. I just didn't want to do this to you, you know? Before the day.”

“Before I die, you mean. But this is so much worse! I wish you were honest with me a lot earlier, so that I didn't beg you to grant me a minute of your time all these months.”

“Don't say it like that! I'm sorry…”

He took a deep breath and let it out away from the phone. “Yeah, okay. I get it… I'm glad we finally got this settled.”

“Yeah…”

“Uh… I actually have a favor to ask, if you're up for it.”

She laughed, “Is this the real reason you called?”

“What? No!”

“You don't like to bother me, so every time you call something's up. I know you too well, Josh, I'm not the only one keeping things to myself here.”

“Geez, woman!”

“So, now that we got our break up out of the way, let's hear about that favor of yours,” she said, a subtle sting of sass in her voice, which he decided to leave that can of worms be.

“Alright. So I got this dumb new friend who wants to break my spell.”

She considered those words for a few seconds. “He what!?”

“It's a she. And she's pretty stubborn about it.”

“No way! Are you serious? Josh, you have to stop her! This isn't something to fool around with!”

“I know, I keep telling her, but she just said if she gets hurt it's her responsibility.”

“Oh, did you get yourself an admirer?”

“What? No, we're just friends. She told me herself she's not looking for that kind of relationship.”

“Hm, but you were super popular in high school! You even had a fan club! Sounds like she's into you.”

“I don't get those vibes from her. I think she just likes playing computer games and doesn't have friends to play with.”

“That's even weirder if she's not in love with you! It's so dangerous! Your mother is one of the most powerful witches in North America, and in order to break the spell, you gotta be just as powerful! It's impossible for a regular person!”

“Well, she just wants to research it and see for herself that she can't do anything.”

“Research?”

“Yeah, she's reading google and stuff about it.”

“Oh, any results from there?”

“Not as far as I know.”

“Well, no wonder!”

“Hey, so, I was gonna ask if you got some books in your house that she can read? That are safe, I mean. She asked to read books from my library, but I don't know which ones are safe.”

“Hmm… Let me think.”

“There was that one on contracts that was a pretty light read considering the subject matter.”

“Oh, yeah, that one's just a reference book. I think your mother might have placed booby traps in her literature, so I'll need to take a look before you touch them.”

“Pff, I don't wanna touch that with a ten foot pole, so, be my guest.”

“Okay, I'll dig in my house and see if I can find anything useful.”

“Thank you! That'll keep her busy for a while.”

She chuckled, “You don't think she'll find a way?”

“I dunno. I just don't want her to get hurt. If she finds a perfectly safe, non-lethal, get-out-of-it-without-a-scratch way, then she can be my guest, by all means.”

“It kind of makes me feel guilty.”

“Why?”

“Because I've been your girlfriend for two years, and it never even occurred to me to go against your mother. And here some random girl wants to break the spell, and she's just a gaming buddy.”

“Hey, don't underestimate gamer buddies!”

“… Alright, then, I'll see what I can find.”

“Great! Thanks!”

“No problem! I think I can bring some tomorrow for her to start with.”

“Tomorrow? Awesome! She'll be happy to hear that.”

“Then it's settled. See you then!”

“Bye.”

He hung up the phone and sat down on the ground, smiling, and petted the cat who appreciated it quite a bit.

***

“Honey, eat your sweet potatoes, they're so good with yogurt!”

Katie grinned wide, looking right at her mother over the dinner table. “Thanks, mom, I will.”

Her mom flinched from such a warm smile. “You okay there?”

Emma was a tired woman in her late fifties, who nevertheless never complained. She had a round face that concealed her age, straight brown hair, brown eyes, and a healthy rosy skin tone. She didn't look at all like she was working two shifts at a hospital, always cheerful and positive, without being too upbeat about it. Eating together with the whole family was a rare occasion, however, since she was busy on most nights, or just too tired to eat at the table.

“I'm super.” Katie chomped a large piece of sweet potato and chewed on it with satisfaction. “Mmm! It's really good!”

“Right? Grace, the neighbor two houses down the street gave me this recipe, I think I'm gonna cook sweet potatoes like this from now on!”

“That'd be awesome!”

“What do you think, Stephen?”

The boy was too focused on his phone to hear his mother.

“Hey,” Katie nudged him with her elbow, “Mom's talking to you”.

“What?” He lifted his head with his eyes wide.

“Do you like the sweet potatoes, honey?”

“Oh, yeah, they're good!” He went right back to his phone, but the answer was enough validation for his mother.

When the kids were done eating, their mother started to clean up the table. Stephen flew like a bullet back to his room, but Katie came up to her and smooched her on the cheek.

“Thanks, mom! I love you!”

“My goodness! What's this about? Are you okay?”

“Peeeerfectly fine!” Katie turned around and walked down the living room towards the stairs up to her room.

“Honey, are you by any chance in love with a boy?”

“Oh, haha! I'm out of love! I'm out of _all_ the freakin' love! I'm so free of the BS! I'm freee!” She raised her arms and walked in a funky way raising her legs with each step.

“Well, whatever's going on, I'm happy for you.”

“And that's why you're the best, mama,” she said, loudly hopping up the stairs.

Emma laughed, pleased with her daughter's praise.

Back in her room, she texted Josh before getting to math and English homework.

K>> “Hey”

J>> “Oh, hey, just in time, I needed to talk to you”

K>> “What's up?”

J>> “Minnie's gonna come over tomorrow with books for you. She said she'll pick something you can start with.”

K>> “Oh great! Can't wait to get my grabby hands on it!”

J>> “Aren't you getting a little too carried away?”

K>> “LOL!!! Are you kidding? It's like a puzzle.”

K>> “Oh, sorry, your life's on the line, I'm totally serious!”

J>> “Haha, it's fine if you're having fun, bc then I don't feel that bad for making you get into all that scary stuff.”

K>> “Yeah, I'll be careful, but it's even more fun that way. I love solving complex problems. Add some danger and I'm sold.”

J>> “Lol guess that's a good personality trait to have.”

K>> “Maybe. I don't complain.”

J>> “So, we're gonna wait for you tomorrow night at around 6pm.”

K>> “Ok, I'll be there!”

J>> “Alfred's having a field day in the kitchen. He's marinating something overnight.”

K>> “Oh I'm looking forward to it!!! I bet it will be delicious!”

J>> “Yeah, same! Ttyl”

K>> “Oh wait, I told my best friend Alana about you. I didn't tell all the details, but she wants to meet you.”

J>> “Oh, good, I was beginning to think she was your imaginary friend.”

K>> “Shut it!!!”

J>> “Your best friend? She's your only friend, XD”

K>> “Stop it! ☹”

J>> “Sorry, sorry, but it is pretty sad, dude. If your research isn't successful, in a couple months you'll be back to one friend. You gotta open up more to people.”

K>> “Failure is not an option! You're gonna be fine, Josh!”

J>> “I like that positivity. Keep it up!”

K>> “I will, no doubt!”

J>> “See ya.”

K>> “Bye.”

  



	9. Chapter 9

 

The next day at school, Katie was in a good mood again. She didn't remember ever feeling that great. Maybe it was spring, maybe it was freedom from boys and their love games, maybe it was something to look forward to, and maybe it was all together. Anyways, the weather was beautiful, sunny and bright, with flowers blooming all over the town, and birds chirping joyously around the school.

She was walking down the hallway towards the front door after lunch, a flowery dress hugged her curves and flared in frills on her thighs with each step. She knew she looked amazing, and boys turned their heads checking her out, but the real kicker was girls staring at her, either feeling insecure or jealous. There was one or two of genuine girl admiration, and those gazes she cherished the most.

“Looking nice today,” Caleb's voice said above her ear and a little behind her. When did he get so close?

She jumped away and looked at him, squeezing her backpack straps.

“Wait,” he said as she turned back around and walked faster away. “Katie, I wanna apologize to you.”

She turned to him and slowed down, looking at him like she was insulting him with her eyes. People were walking all around them, but didn't pay any attention to them.

“I'm sorry! I was such a jerk to you. All this time, it was all my fault, from the beginning.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Yes! You know, the kinda reputation you have, I mean, I didn't care about it when we started dating. But then, I started to fall for you, and I got scared…”

She slowed down and stopped, facing him to listen to what he had to say, still only half believing it.

“…That you would dump me like all the others. And when I heard that you were cheating on me, it broke my heart. It seriously hurt. So I just lost my mind. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have gone to your house that day. I didn't know it scared you that much that you had to run away, it was never my intention.”

She didn't say anything, nothing came to mind.

“I know you hate me now, so there's no chance for me anymore. But I just hope that you know that I regret it like hell. I was so wrong, and only if I trusted you more, maybe we could've become something more.”

She gathered her eyebrows a little, catching feelings wasn't on the curriculum. That was the last thing she needed.

“So, I hope we can at least be friends now. I learned my lesson, a few too many lessons, actually.”

“Thanks for telling me. I appreciate it!”

He smiled with one corner of his mouth, the same smile that used to drive her crazy, so manly in his distinctly shy but dashing way!

“Yeah, sure, we can be friends. We're cool.”

“Really? 's tight, man!”

“Sure, we're tight!”

“Great! Thank you!”

“Yeah. See ya around, Caleb.”

“U- Yeah, see ya.”

She turned around and smiled at him from the side, seeing how he admired her forms and face like she was a celestial being.

Men were such fools, she thought. What did they even find in her?

She smiled wide when she saw Alana sitting at a table outside and waving at her.

“Are those the new Bebe shoes?” Alana asked when Katie sat down opposite her and placed her backpack next to her.

“Yeah! It's finally warm enough to wear them, aren't they cute?”

“They're amazing! I love the whole flowery theme on you today!”

“Thanks! And I love your hair today! And that butterfly hair clip, that's so good on you!”

“Aww! Derek's present! Isn't it nice?”

“You're still with him? Didn't think you two'd last this long.”

Alana looked to the side with a little smile, lowering her head in a cute way. Katie could swear she probably took all her mannerisms from puppies. But it fit her, the cute girl style.

“I didn't think, either. But we're more chill.”

“Yeah, chill is how I'd describe it.”

“We're somewhere between friends with benefits and lovers. I like it. It's like, no drama.”

“Cool, bro.”

She giggled, “So what's going on with your friend without benefits?”

“Oh, I told him about you, and he'd like to meet you, too!”

Alana squeaked and clapped her hands quietly and quickly.

“But, there's certain things you need to know before.”

“What kinds of things?” She bent her head to the side, letting her curls fall on her shoulder.

“Well, there are certain secrets about him that you can't tell anyone.”

“Secrets?”

“Yeah. Just, don't talk about him with anyone.”

“Ooh, he's a secret friend? How exciting! No, of course I wouldn't tell anyone! I wanna have a secret friend, too!”

“He's not like that. It's just… Well, you'll see for yourself when I tell you. But not here. How about tomorrow?”

“Tomorrow? Okay. Your place?”

“Yeah.”

“Awesome! Finally!”

Katie chuckled sarcastically. “You know, I think you'll actually like him.”

“I like him already, what do you mean?”

“No, I mean, _like_ like him.”

“Oh no! I ship you two so hard, no way!”

Katie burst out laughing, banging her hand on the table and cackling loudly, so that people sitting nearby were looking at them.

Alana pouted and turned away. She wasn't having any of it.

Katie brought the inner side of her hand to her mouth, shaking with laughs that still hadn't quite died. “Okay, whatever, girl, whatever makes you happy, I guess. Just please don't ship us openly.”

Alana chuckled and squinted, bending over the table, “Don't worry, honey, it will not be obvious.” She looked down, thinking about something, but then raised her head when she remembered something. “Did you say you think I'll like him?”

“Maybe?”

“Is he good looking?”

“Yeeaaah. He's super good looking.”

“Aww! Why don't you like him?”

“He's like half Caleb. He's a few protein shakes away from making it to normal BMI.”

“Oh, is that the only reason?”

Katie sighed and looked away into the distance. She then looked down at the table and back at her with a serious expression. “I think I'm done with dating.” She looked away at students walking by. “I'm sick of it. Just wanna be single for a while.”

“Why? What happened to you?”

“Meh. Kinda had a bad breakup with Caleb, so.”

“What?! Did he give you a hard time?”

Katie took a deep breath in, looking down at the table and playing with a loose spindle. “Kinda. He wasn't happy at all. But today we met in the hallway and he apologized, so we're cool now. But I'm just so tired of it all. I wanna have fun, but people get way too serious. That's why I like being friends with Josh, he's like a breath of fresh air. He doesn't look at me the same way as these boys, it's like he sees the real me, and he appreciates it.”

“Wow!”

“Yeah. So, I think this is another reason I don't wanna date anyone. I found something better. A real friend.”

Alana looked at her for a while, studying her expression and body language. “I almost feel too bad for shipping you two. You're making so much sense.”

Katie looked at her and smiled. But then, her expression turned sad, and the sadness made her look so beautiful. Alana didn't know yet what must be the reason for that. So, she though it might be better to wait for everything to be revealed at its own pace. The truth about these two.

They went to class in silence, and Alana stole glances at Katie once in a while as they were walking. Katie's mood was mysterious to her. She was distant, serious, and there was a strange sense of hopelessness that bordered on heartache, which was making her look more mature and grown up. Alana had never seen her best friend like that. Maybe, there was something wrong with Josh? She was afraid to even ask.

After classes for the day ended, Katie's school group had to go see an adviser, a requirement before graduation, and she totally forgot that it was that day. She still had time before 6 pm when she agreed to meet Josh and his girlfriend, though, so she wasn't that worried. She would have to stay up a bit later, though, to prepare for a math quiz the next day.

After an hour at the adviser's office, which included waiting for her turn, she could leave at last. She clicked her heels upon the empty hallway, a knit cardigan draped over her forearm, and her fancy backpack, the most elegant she could find online, tightened to sit at the right height on her back. The white open Bebe shoes with straps and a row of five rhinestones on the side that no one was left in the building to appreciate. But she didn't care, she didn't dress to impress, she dressed to feel good.

The sun was low on the sky, and its rays were streaming through the glass front doors, illuminating the hallway and reflecting off the linoleum floors and glass display shelves on the walls. It was actually nice. The school had an almost magical atmosphere when there were no students around.

Katie looked ahead and noticed a figure of a man standing half way down the hallway, throwing a fuzzy shadow on the floor from the sun rays. He was looking at the displays with awards and tropheys. It was Andrew.

He stepped back away from the wall when he saw her and turned towards her. She slowed down and approached him, because they made eye contact and it looked like he had something to say.

“Hey, Katie,” he said quietly.

“Hey.”

He went quiet and smiled, as if trying to find some good words to say. “You had one of those, too,” he referred to the adviser meeting.

“Yeah.”

“How did it go?”

“Okay. I'm all set to go to XXXX next fall, so it was a short meeting.”

“Nice! I'm going to YYY, and same, all set.”

“Cool.”

“Yeah…” He paused and moved to go towards the exit. Katie moved, too, and they walked together slowly down the hallway.

“You… really surprised me, you know?” He looked at her eye pointedly.

“I did? What did I do?”

“You refused to fake date me.” He looked forward, half smiling.

“Oh. Yeah.”

“I kinda thought… That I'd be like, the last guy you'd target in our team. You dated Zach, Steven, Caleb, and I should've been next, you know, as the captain.”

She chuckled. “Welp. Sorry I didn't fulfill your expectations.”

“But this really… it kinda bothers me a little? Like, why not me? Is something wrong with me? You dated the team captain before me in your junior year.”

She walked along without saying anything. She just didn't have an answer ready for that kind of question.

“And also the basketball captain, and even the Judo trainer last year, Daniel Han, who's like twenty five. Even if I don't see you with your boyfriends in school, your instagram is crazy popular, and people talk, so…”

“Hm,” she replied.

“And you had that affair with the newbie English teach who's into weight lifting, and with the guy that won the city Judo championship. I mean, the picture's pretty clear. You fancy buff boys who are sorta good looking, and you didn't skip anyone but me. So, I thought you were saving me for last, for some reason, so I even gave you an opportunity with that fake date thing-”

“ _You_ gave me an opportunity?” She looked at him with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

“Yeah, so like, you could try going after me or whatever. Maybe I was just playing hard to get all these years.”

She gave him a look and chuckled, turning away. She didn't need men to give her opportunities, oh no, silly baby boy!

“And you wouldn't have minded that, huh?” She glanced at him quickly, smirking.

Andrew only dated one girl during all four years of high school. He was the most popular guy in school, but he had a reputation of being uptight, reserved, and serious. He never expressed interest in easy going romance.

He looked at her and smirked back. “Maybe?”

“Maybe?”

“I guess… I thought you actually liked me, you know? As opposed to the other guys.” He looked at her to see her reaction.

She stared ahead of her. “Actually, I was never going to _target_ you.”

“And why's that?”

She pushed the glass front doors open, stepping outside, and stopped. He stopped, too, standing behind her on the other side of the door and watching the golden sun rays play in her hair.

“Because you're too good for me.” She let the door go and ran down the steps towards her car on the parking lot.

He caught the door with his hands and watched her, confused.

She drove straight to Josh's place, because she didn't have time to go home and change. Usually she'd take a shower and only apply light mascara before leaving, letting her face rest from all the products. But tonight she'll get to meet his girlfriend, so, probably having full makeup and a pretty dress on wasn't such a good idea?

When she pulled up to the red Tesla and came out of her car, she noticed that the sun had dipped under the horizon. She calmly walked to the front door, all the school worries behind her. But when she saw Josh open the door, it was like a splash of ice cold water.

He looked deathly pale. His eyes were like those of an old man. There was no sparkle in them, they smiled only fakely to be polite, but it was as if his soul had already said goodbye to this world. Katie's heart churned with pain at that sight, and she walked inside the house with steel determination. There's no way she'll allow this turn of events.

 


	10. Chapter 10

 

They hugged at the door, and Josh pointed at her shoes.

“You had to come in these right after I turned back human,” he said shaking his head.

She looked at the Bebe heels and then up at him, a little confused, but then remembered her saying before that she could run circles around him on her heels.

“You know, I can do cartwheels in these, right? So be thankful that I did!”

“Okay,” he replied and smiled, mildly impressed but still not backing down.

She noticed, though, that they really were the same height with her being in those shoes. It was… different, seeing a guy's face so close. Their eyes were almost on the same level, and she could see all of his emotions and reactions immediately. Perhaps that single fact made her feel closer to him?

Josh took her to the hallway that branched out from the main hallway, and they walked by a row of large arched windows on the left looking out to the front yard with regal velvet curtains to a room on the right with large glass French doors. It was large room that had built in shelves on two opposite walls and a large desk in the middle facing the doors with some cabinets against the opposite wall under the large windows. There was a girl sitting at the desk with a bunch of books lying around her.

The girl was blonde with very light straw colored hair. She seemed tall and skinny, and reminded Katie of Gwyneth Paltrow. She also looked somewhat older than Josh and much more mature. She had light makeup on, a white blouse from Anthropologie and high waisted beige capri pants with a thin red glossy red belt.

When she saw Katie, she got up from the chair and walked around to shake her hand. She was significantly taller than both Josh and Katie.

“Hi, I'm Mary, you must be Katie.”

“Yeah, hi, nice to meet you,” Katie spoke on autopilot, the girl's appearance was too surprising.

“Everyone calls me Minnie, but you can call me whatever you like.”

Josh coughed and mumbled, “I would advise against it.”

Minnie glanced at him, but didn't react in any way.

Katie had one word to describe this woman: scary. From the first glance, she could tell she wouldn't get along with her. She was too well put together and proper, totally opposite of Katie, who was a no limits girl perpetually haunted by dirty rumors. Even Katie's sultry dress and heavy eye shadow contrasted Minnie's chaste and clean appearance.

Talk about a shattered mental image! She wasn't at all what Katie expected. Although, it's not like Katie had a specific image in mind of Josh's girlfriend. It was just so far from all expectations. She wasn't even that pretty, even though she was… handsome. Thin waist, slightly rounded hips, long legs, and a face that would've fit a catwalk, but next to Josh… She was older? And looked like a corporate lady in a very high position with a PhD in something businessy? And her boyfriend was a full time gamer recluse in the woods in an oversized ten year old t-shirt and sweats with no job and no other interests? Plus it looked like their sense of humor was seriously misaligned.

Katie's brain gears sped like formula 1, searching for whys and hows, but still couldn't figure it out.

“Josh told me that you are interested in learning about magic-”

“That's so very much not what I told you!”

“I apologize, I meant you were interested in learning about his case.”

Katie looked at Josh, she didn't feel the inner strength to oppose this woman the way he did. Katie was ready to jump off a cliff into the sea if Minnie told her to, out of fear of finding out what would happen if she didn't.

“Um, yeah, I wouldn't say interested to learn, but rather to solve it.”

“Solve it? Like a detective?”

“Uh… Sure?”

Josh picked up on Katie's awkwardness and stood with his hands grasping his elbows and his lips pressed together suppressing a smile. He tried to hide the amusement in his eyes by looking at them from under his eyebrows, but it made it even more obvious. Katie was too wrapped up in Minnie's pace to notice, though.

“Sounds good,” Minnie responded pointed at the table with her hands in a business-like manner as if they were talking about closing a real estate deal. “I've prepared some materials for you from my own house, see if you can find something useful. I've only read parts of them, so I'm not sure if they'll have anything good in them. After you're done with them, let me know, and maybe we can check Josh's house for any more relevant books, but I'd have to do it, out of precaution in case there are any… obstacles.”

“Okay, thanks,” Katie said, rather pushing out the sounds with force, too scared to inquire about the said obstacles.

Minnie put all the books in one neat pile and then said her goodbyes. She hugged Josh so un-intimately, like he was her neighbor, and walked towards the front door. Josh and Katie followed her.

“Sorry, I can't stay and chat longer, but text me if you have questions,” she said without looking at anyone, but Katie understood that it was directed at her.

“Okay,” she said.

Minnie looked at her sternly, like, “I wasn't talking to you”, and Katie bit her tongue, tensing up. Why did she think Minnie was talking to her? They didn't even exchanged numbers yet. And probably never will. Thankfully.

“Yeah,” Josh replied. He held the door open for the woman, and she was finally out of the house.

Katie took in a deep nervous inhale and turned away from the door with her eyes wide. What just happened?

Behind her, Josh snorted and giggled with a high pitched voice, having a good time at Katie's expense.

“I thought she was gonna beat me with the stick that was up her butt,” she said, without thinking, but then wanted to take it all back. “Oh, dude, sorry, she's your girlfriend, I didn't mean…”

Josh burst out laughing, bending down and holding his stomach. “You shoulda seen your face! No, no, I get it, she _is_ like that though,” he admitted after calming down a bit. “She's way too uptight sometimes. But…”

They walked down to the game room, their usual hang out.

“But what?”

Josh looked at her, “Oh, we broke up. She's not my girlfriend anymore.”

Katie stopped walking. “You WHAT?”

He turned and stopped, too, confused. “What?”

Katie stared at him, an agonizing worry creeping up her throat. This was not good, not at all. It felt like Josh was preparing for his death, tying loose ends, getting closure… And it was making her upset, with everything that she was trying to do to prevent it, not that she was successful, but still!

She continued walking, annoyed, and came upon the game room, all clean and sparkling, with the original furniture cleared off and in its rightful place, and all the game gadgets neatly collected on the desk under the windows, and this caused her such shock that she stared at it for nearly a solid minute. She then looked at Josh angrily, and stomped back to the library.

“What?” Josh followed her, not sure what he did wrong.

She picked up the books with exaggerated movements, and stomped back to the front door. As the door was closing behind her, she heard Harold run out into the entrance room.

“What? They both left? What about the meat balls?”

Josh didn't say anything, and the door shut.

In the car, tears of frustration rolled down her cheeks. She felt so alone, nobody wanted to help her or at least cheer her on, to believe that she could do anything if she put her mind to it. But most upsetting of all was Josh's acceptance of his death, treating it like long-term travel rather than passing on from the freaking land of the living.

She wiped her nose and watched traffic through blurry eyes, blinking the tears away.

Why didn't Minnie want to help her with the research, even though she claimed to know more about magic than Katie?

Why didn't Josh care if anyone cared?

This was all so messed up!

And about that game room. It was most likely Minnie who made Josh tidy it up. Why did they even break up? Minnie seemed to be the last beacon of reason and ground for him, without her, he had lost the last string that had been keeping his soul tied to this world.

She knew it was none of her business, but at the same time it was! If the relationship with Minnie was good for him, she would want them to keep it.

***

When she got home, she found a text.

J>> “Did I say something wrong? You left so angry. I'm sorry!”

She fell on her bed face down, trying to calm down and sort out her emotions. There was a turmoil going on in her heart, and it was all so confusing! She was still mad at him for talking to her like a little girl who doesn't know any better the other day. She was mad at him for being so easy going and not even worrying about his own life. She was mad at him for not expecting anyone to help him. She was mad at him for not knowing about how much she cared about him and his situation. She was mad at him for not believing in her and not putting even an ounce of hope in her efforts to help him. She felt like she was swimming against the flow of a muddy torrent, and everything was against her. There wasn't a single person rooting for her.

K>> “It's nothing.”

J>> “Google translate says 'it's nothing' means 'there's a whole lot of something and you need to be worried' in girl speak.”

She stuck her head back into her pillow and tried to pull her thoughts together for a coherent reply.

K>> “Don't worry about it. I'll get over it.”

J>> “Do you wanna talk?”

K>> “Nah. I hate talking on the phone.”

J>> “Would you like me to come over? Or meet you somewhere?”

She frowned and stared at the text. Why would he wanna come over? So that she'll make a scene in front of her family? She'll have to explain it to her mom that he isn't her boyfriend since she had never had a male friend in her life. There would be no end to teases from her brother, either. That would be such a pain.

Yeah, it was super weird, though, for her to have a male friend. She was considered a sort of a predator at school – she preyed on men's hearts, a shameless seductress who wouldn't stop at anything to lure poor souls to their doom. It was ridiculous, of course, she just had a particular type, and never got serious about anyone. She loved the idea of romance with handsome guys, and being with them made her believe in love a little. It was nothing but selfish desire to be spoiled and pampered by good looking guys.

K>> “Don't worry about it.”

It took him a little while to text back.

J>> “I know a way to the roof on the Heights Mall, you can see downtown from up there. We can talk there. If you want to.”

She remembered when Alana fell in love with a boy in senior year when they were sophmores. The guy rejected her in an ugly way and insulted her. Poor thing cried for three days and skipped school. It was a breaking point for both of the girls at that time. They made an unspoken pact to never fall for real because it was just too painful.

But Katie remembered how worried she was about her friend. She stayed with her and bought her cakes and ice cream. Being there for her, and seeing that it helped Alana was such a relief for her. She remembered how much she herself suffered because her friend was hurting.

But what to do when your friend had given up? What would you say to them?

And she realized that even though she promised herself not to fall in love seriously to avoid pain, having real friends sometimes involved a totally different kind of pain. It cut deeper, and left scars that would remain forever and even change who you are.

Just like his scars changed who he had become. He was already done suffering, it was years ago when he got over it, and what was left was numbness.

K>> “I dunno. Whatever.”

J>> “I need to go to the mall anyways. Imma be there in 20. Lemme know if you're coming.”

K>> “K”

***

Half an hour later, Katie was walking down the parking lot of the Heights Mall, clad in flats, stretchy pencil pants, and an old oversized sweater with long sleeves and warm pockets. It was her go to comfy wear for when she couldn't think of what to pick.

The mall was huge. Its sharp chiseled corners, lit with yellow lights, cut into the velvet indigo skies.

Josh was sitting at one of the pub high tables of the food court, slurping on his ice tea, among used napkins and dirty paper plates. He had jeans on that were aged by years of wear and not by the manufacturer, some old sneakers, and a new-ish black long sleeve shirt with a cheesy wolf print that looked like it was bought at a state park souvenir shop.

She came over and sat opposite him on the bar stool, hands in pockets, and leaning back. He swooshed the melting ice in the cup, took a few last sips, and then went to dump his tray in the trash can.

There weren't that many people in the mall, since it was a weekday night.

She jumped off the stool when he walked towards her and pointed out the way.

“Didn't Harold prepare meatballs? Why are you eating mall food?”

He chuckled. “He got mad at me, like it was my fault you both left. So he froze the food until you two would come again and stay for dinner.”

“Wow, that's harsh.”

“Heh. He kicked me out of the house to make up with you immediately.”

Her face, which was tense all evening, stretched into a smile, and she laughed. “And here I thought you felt guilty and worried.”

“I did? A little? I guess we have stuff to talk about.”

“I guess so.”

 


	11. Chapter 11

 

He walked ahead along a side corridor and towards a door that said “Staff Only.” He grasped the handle and looked back at her, turning it.

“The janitor is a friend of mine, so, he allows me access to these neat places.”

“Nice!”

“Yeah. It's the _people_ that help you go places in life, you know,” he said, hinting at the fact that Katie wasn't very friendly with other people.

“Ugh, stop being so patronizing.”

“Sorry.”

Katie walked on through the doorway, and Josh went in after her, closing the door. They ascended three flights of stairs and came out the door at the end that led to the roof.

It was a little windy and chilly on the roof. It was wide and open flat surface, and the starry sky was up above them. Josh stuck his hands in his jean pockets, rising his shoulders, and walked quickly to the left towards the Heights Mall sign and behind it. Katie followed him, also pressing her arms to her body.

Behind the giant neon sign there was a staircase with five steps leading down to what looked like a service area for the sign. It was a small area about four feet lower than the roof, open to the sky above and to the city below on one of its sides, since the mall sign was only about ten feet from the edge of the building. There were stairs leading back up to the roof on the opposite side about twenty feet away, and a railing that ran along the edge of the roof. The neon sign was sitting on a support box standing a couple feet above the roof, and gave those extra feet of protection from the wind while you were in the service area. There were two closed doors in the wall right below the sign, probably electrician access, or something.

Josh walked over to the wall under the sign and sat down on the floor between the doors, illuminated with reds, greens, and blues from the neon. She sat next to him, huddled up in her warm sweater. He didn't even look that cold, though, in that thin cotton long sleeve.

His eyes honestly looked weird. They were unusual as it was, being light silver color, or that's just what Katie decided to call it. His eye color was like that of a Bald Eagle, very pale gray??? Almost white, but sometimes they were blueish and other times greenish, depending on the environment. And often the irises looked lighter than the whites of his eyes, especially in the shade or a dark room, appearing to be glowing. They weren't unnaturally shining like Superman's eyes, they were just very light, compared to other people's eyes. And right then they reflected the neon lights, glistening with all the colors.

They sat in silence for a short while, looking at the view of the city below them.

“So…,” he started, “Sorry?” He looked at her with a question mark on his face.

She glanced at him and smiled. “Yeah, I'm sorry, too. I got angry.”

“At me?”

“Yeah. I've been angry at you for a while.”

“What!? Why?”

“I dunno. Lots of things.” She leaned the back of her head against the wall. “I think mainly because you don't care if you die, and treat it like it's some ordinary thing. And you also don't care if your friends worry about you.”

“You worry about me?”

“Of course I do.”

He also leaned his head back, sighed, and stretched out his legs.

“Sorry if it looks that way. It's just, most of the folks that care about me had already accepted the fact years ago.”

“Yeah, that's what I figured.”

“Yeah. Tyrone, Chuck, and Minnie, the four of us actually got to the bottom of what was happening to me, together. We found out piece by piece from either my mom, my dad, or from Minnie's parents. And when the full picture became clear, we were all so shocked… But then it just… died down. We did look for ways to prevent my death, Chuck even tried talking to my mom, and my dad, but nothing worked. And so, over the years we kinda just accepted defeat.”

“You have a dad?”

“Um, yeah, I mean…”

“You just never talk about him, so I assumed your biological father was out the picture for a while.”

“Yeah, he was. I do remember him, though. I was… nine-ten when he left my mom? He was fed up with everything. I get him, I totally do.”

She chuckled, “Yeah.”

“For sure. But it never occurred to either of us to break the actual spell. My friends and Minnie know my mother, and everyone is terrified of her. She wasn't often home, though, she was always up to some crazy stuff.”

“I see.”

“Yeah… So, when you appeared that day, we were all already done agonizing over my situation. But for you it's new information, so to you it prolly looks like nobody cares.”

“It does! It's so frustrating! And nobody wants to help me, especially Minnie, who's supposed to know about this stuff.”

Josh paused and shifted a bit on the spot. “One time, my friends and I were just fooling around in the house, we were doing skate board tricks and stuff, riding down the stair rails-”

“You were doing what? Inside the house?” She bent her head down to see his face and laughed.

He smiled and chuckled, “I know, it's crazy, but the house is big, and there are some places… So, anyway, Chuck was going on his skateboard on the second floor, and he crashed into my mom's room door. I mean, the door usually stays closed at all times, and he was like, riding past it. But he suddenly fell and crashed into the door. He ended up braking his leg and got a nasty wound on his shin. He even threw up on the floor. We took him to the hospital, but they couldn't put a cast on him because of the wound, but the wound just wouldn't close. The nurses did everything, gave him all kinds of medicine, but the leg wouldn't heal. Neither the broken bone, nor the wound. They even had to do blood transfusions on him.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah. Back then I was getting into Christianity, so I brought father George over to see him in the hospital, he prayed over him, and the wound closed the next day… Ever since then, me and my buddies were afraid to even go near my mom's stuff or room. I don't even go to that wing of the house anymore. Alfred goes there to clean once in a while, and nothing ever happened to him, thank God. So for them, and for me, trying to go against my mother at her own game, is just beyond stupid and reckless. She'll squish you like a bug.”

Katie sat in silence, knees to her chest, looking over the city.

“That's not even all,” he added, and she looked at him with her full attention. “My mother had been… against me dating in school. She somehow knew every girl that I liked or that liked me, and she'd make something bad happen to them.”

“What? Why, though?”

He shook his head. “No idea. Maybe to keep me from relationships because I was supposed to die? Maybe she was doing me a favor. But when she cursed me with the beast form and left, I could date Minnie no problem. And we were together for two years before breaking up.”

“Why did you guys break up?”

“Why?”

“… I know, it's not my business, but I think that it's good for you to be with her. I don't know what's gonna happen to you now!”

He laughed, “Really? Why's that?”

“I mean, look at yourself! You're a complete mess. At least you take a shower, but that's about it. When was the last time you bought yourself some new clothes?”

“Hmm, high school?”

“Which was what, three, four years ago?”

“Yeah. But why do it though?”

“What do you mean, why?”

“I don't need new clothes. The ones I have are fine. I've been the same size since fourteen.”

“So, most of your clothes you been wearing since then?”

“What. I like them. They're soft and comfy. New clothes feel kinda rough, you know. When they're worn they become softer.”

She sighed. “It just gives an impression that you don't care about your appearance.”

“I don't, so what's wrong with that?”

“Josh, you look like a bum, no offense to homeless people, though. But it's not… socially acceptable to be like that.”

“Is it not acceptable to you?” He rolled his head to look at her.

“I mean… I don't really mind-”

“See?”

“But it's… frustrating.”

“Why's it frustrating?”

“Because it looks like you don't care. Period. You don't care about anything. So, what _do_ you care about, Josh?”

He sighed and paused for a little while. “I care a great deal about a lot of things. I'm actually trying not to waste money. You noticed that most of the house is dark at night? And the heater only works in the kitchen and the main hallway. I sleep with an open door so the heat comes in through at night. I'm saving money. Besides, since I'm going to die soon anyway, what do I need new clothes for?”

She furrowed her eyebrows and stared into the distance, considering what he said.

“Are you running out of money?” She looked at him with concern.

He laughed. “No, dude, I'm not. I just… It's not my money. I'm not working, I'm not in school, I didn't earn it. So, I don't have the right to be wasteful.”

“Isn't it the money that your mother gave you? You know, to live the rest of your days on?”

“Yeah.”

“So, why aren't you like, in Florida or South Italy at a resort somewhere with your girlfriend or something?”

“Is that what you would've done?”

“Ahaha, wow. What would I have done? I would've done every stupid and crazy stuff I could think of. I would've made a youtube channel and filmed my transformation, I would've started a non-profit, raised awareness about evil witches, created memes, and rallied around the globe. I would NOT have let my mother get away with what she did. I would've made sure the whole world hated her as much as I did. I would've gone viral. And maybe I could've found someone who could help me.”

He chuckled. “That's exactly what I thought you'd say.”

“No kidding.”

“Yeah… But I don't hate my mother.”

“Huh?”

He went quiet for a few seconds, looking into the distance. “I still love her… I know she did this to me and is going to take my life… But I believe in her. Deep down, I know she must still love me. I'm her only child. She was in her early twenties when she gave birth to me, so she was like me now – young and dumb. She's a victim of her own choices. You think being a witch is easy? Once you get into that world, you can't get out, and you can't go against the code. If she missteps, it brings consequences, sometimes nasty ones.”

“What do you mean?”

“I heard one too many times her cries at night after she failed to do something evil or did something nice.”

“She cried?”

“Yeah, she was tortured. By demons she served.”

“What? You serious?”

“Yeah… I remember one time, I participated in a state math and science competition, and I won. The teacher called our house to personally congratulate her. She then smiled at me, patted my head, and said that I was a true Correa. Our family actually has some history starting in Europe centuries ago. Saying that to me was a big deal, it means she thought of me as part of the family, not as a tool for her to use and dispose of.”

Katie looked at him but didn't say anything.

“So, despite everything, my faith in her remains. I don't think she wants me to die. But she just may not be able to do anything to stop it. Everybody thinks I must be suffering and desperate, but imagine _her_ pain. She has to take the life of her own kid! I mean, if that can't make her regret ever getting that deep into sorcery… So every day I try to make it a little harder for her to want to continue doing it. Although, I really don't know what would it take for her to stop.”

Katie shut up and just listened, utterly perplexed, and thought for a while about what he said.

“So, all this time while I was thinking about how to save you, you were thinking about how to save your mother. Because that would also save you.”

“Well, I don't know about saving her. That may be a long-term thing. But I hope that if I don't die, it might help move her in the right direction.”

“Hm.”

He sighed and brought his knees to his chin, starting to feel the chill. “When she was leaving, I knew that something was up. She left early in the morning. I woke up that day to go to the bathroom and heard noise out in the house. Went out and saw two maids roll her suit cases down the hallway. So, I ran downstairs and outside in my pajamas, and my mom was already getting into her limo. She didn't look at me even as I yelled for her. She didn't wave or anything. Just closed the door and drove off. Now I think that she didn't want to see me before leaving because she didn't want to say goodbye to her son. And the fact that she left tells me that she didn't want to see me suffer. Maybe she wanted time away from me to dull the mother's instinct, like, out of sight out of heart. And this is why it makes me think that she still cares, and it's her who's hurting the most in this situation. She'd have to live her entire unnaturally long life mourning me every day.”

“So, after she left, and I couldn't go to school anymore because I turned into the abominable snowman, I got so depressed. But not because I was upset or anything. I mean, I was pretty upset at her for doing this to me. But I was even more mad at myself. I wasted my short life on stupid crap. I didn't do things that I really wanted, I let the time slip away, I pushed people away. I kinda lowkey hated my whole school, and when this happened to me, I realized that I was such a douche, and I should have been nicer to everyone. I was so stupid. So, when I kinda got into the flow of things, I made sure to make friends with lots of people. I made up with folks from school, even with teachers, with girls, with boys, everyone, little by little. Got a stable girlfriend, and that was an achievement.”

He laughed. “Back in school, I was sooo awkward, and could never be myself and open up to people. So even if I would date a girl, it never lasted longer than a couple dates. And then my mother would help, of course, to push them away from me… So, that's why I get patronizing sometimes, sorry about that. It's just, I realized what my mistake was, but now it's too late for me. I can't get those years back, and I could have been laughing and having fun in sports teams and whatnot and making great memories. When I see other people do the same mistakes as me, I just can't help it.”

“But you don't even have that many friends? You're home all day.”

“Right now, yeah. I don't wanna be in everyone's faces one day and then suddenly disappear on the next. So, since the new year started I have been reducing social activities, so that my death isn't felt as much, you know? I'm down to two best dudes now. I do go to the BBQs that the neighborhood throws once in a while.”

She didn't know what to say. She was so wrong about him. Was he insane to think like that about his mother? And still love her? She couldn't understand it. She had all this anger inside that she didn't know what to do with. Did he not feel the anger, as well?

Maybe, he just wasn't the kinda person that gets angry?

“I know you must feel confused. But I think… I hope that your research brings some results. Not just for my sake, but for my mother's as well. And if I'm meant to live, then I'll live. If not, then not. But I don't want you to stress about it too much.”

“Sure, no pressure, just a twenty one year old's life hanging on my research.”

He chuckled with a hoarse voice. “That's why I didn't want you to do it. Too much hanging on your shoulders. Plus your school.”

“I happen to work best under pressure. Keeps me focused and creative.”

“… Good for you… I guess… And for me.”

She laughed, “Yeah!”

“You know, I'm kinda freezing my behind off in here, whaddaya say if we go inside?”

“Agreed. Wholeheartedly!”

They laughed, getting up and brushing their pants off, and sprinted across the roof through the cold towards the door that led inside.

They said their goodbyes once on the parking lot, and Katie watched him go to his car, hunched over and squeezing his shoulders. She felt like she never really knew him. And he knew that she didn't. That's why he felt the need to tell her.

 


	12. Chapter 12

 

She was laying in bed with eyes wide open. It was long past her bed time, since she was getting into the books Minnie prepared for her all evening, after doing her homework. But she wasn't thinking about either school or curses. It was the conversation on the roof.

Softly, it was shattering concepts inside her head, concepts that she had been holding on to for her entire life. Good and evil, right and wrong, friendship, love, hate, humanity…

Was it right for Josh to still love and have faith in his mother? Maybe she is a manipulative person who made him believe she still loved him? And, what was the purpose of him saving money that his mother gave him? Did he think it could make her appreciate him even a little? Be proud of him?

There was still so much she didn't know about him. Every time he opened up to her, she found even more questions. It was like he was an abyss of unknowns, a massive hall of closed doors with more closed doors behind those.

And whatever she discovered was so unlike anything she knew. So that it made her curious about what else was there, behind all those doors.

She fell asleep with all the questions remaining unanswered. In the morning, as she was getting ready for school, she decided to text her mother. She had rarely asked her anything, and it even felt weird for doing so, but she didn't know who else to turn to.

K>> “Mom, I have a serious question for you.”

Her mother normally didn't have time for texting or calling during work. She was a nurse manager who also helped out as a nurse, since the hospital was severely understaffed. So, during her lunch, which was earlier than Katie's, she finally replied.

M>> “Yes, sweetie, what is the question?”

K>> “So, I have this friend, his mother did something terrible to him and left him. But he says he still loves her and has faith in her. I just think he's crazy. What do you think?”

M>> “Wow… That's a pretty sad story!… Let's see… So, his mother abandoned him? I'd say if she loved him she wouldn't have done it.”

K>> “He says that she might have been forced to. Let's say she's involved with some shady business.”

M>> “Oh, well, in that case, didn't she leave to protect him?”

K>> “Protect him?”

M>> “Yeah. That's the only reason I see that a mother would abandon her child for, if she loved him. But if your friend still loves her and has faith in her, I think that's very admirable of him, and shows strength of character. Not many people are capable of forgiving their loved ones for the wrong choices they do.”

Katie paused. Forgiving? Josh forgave his mother?

That realization made look up at the front of the classroom with wide eyes. Her mind was blown. And so was the teacher's who found her texting during class.

She hastily put the phone away and pretended to listen to the lecture while the mind behind those ice blue eyes was slowly coming undone.

Her body didn't know how to react. Her heart squeezed with pain, from guilt and shame. She felt like the ground was about to break apart under her and swallow her. She felt filthy and rotten, selfish, and evil.

What had she been doing with her life? Suddenly, she remembered all the boys she dated and how mean she had been to them. She always dismissed their feelings, and even laughed at them for being so stupid and fall for her for real when she didn't intend to be serious at all. Even her best friend she didn't treat right, that angel. Well, Alana had her issues, too, but she was always supportive and genuinely loved her as a friend. Katie had never showed her bestie the appreciation she deserved.

Somehow, all of the things she did wrong were glaring at her. What was she, compared to Josh? Compared to Alana? Compared to the boys she lured into dating with a couple smiles and puppy eyes? She had absolutely no right to be angry at anyone or anything, to the righteous fury she felt towards Josh's mother before, as if she herself had the moral high ground.

K>> “Thanks so much, mom!”

M>> “No problem, dear! Any time :) <3”

Katie smiled at the text and went to lunch. She texted Josh then.

K>> “Hey, you know what I realized? Your mother let you date Minnie because she's in the family.”

Josh didn't reply right away.

J>> “Mind=blown.”

She laughed and put her phone away, sitting down for some sandwiches with Alana in the cafeteria.

***

Alana pulled up to Katie's house and parked along the curb. Katie saw her in the window and ran downstairs to greet her. They hugged at the door and went upstairs. Katie was home alone, but she still felt like she needed the privacy of her room for their conversation.

“So,” Alana said curiously while walking into the room, “Do you have a picture of Josh?”

“What? No, I don't.”

Alana only smiled and look to the side like she didn't want to bother say it, since Katie would deny everything anyway.

“So, what was that secret that I can't tell anyone about?”

Katie closed the door and stood facing her, looking at her seriously.

“This is really important. You absolutely cannot tell anyone.”

“Yeah, I know. I won't.”

Katie sighed and went to sit on her bed, and Alana followed her.

“His mother is a witch, and she cursed him.”

Alana's eyebrows went halfway up her forehead.

“No, I'm serious. He actually turns into a… creature during the day. I mean, it's really freaky. He's human only after sunset.”

Alana was silent for a few moments. “So, you've seen this creature?”

“Yeah, that's how we met! It was during the day, so he was actually a monster when I first saw him.”

Alana's face turned to shock.

“But then, when the sun went down, I met the human Josh. But once I got to know him, even as a monster, I found that he was super chill and felt bad about scaring me.”

“Wait, where was that? What kind of God forsaken woods did you get lost in? What were you even doing there?” She sounded like she was scolding her in a motherly tone.

“Uh…” Katie didn't want her friend to know about the part where Caleb was trying to murder her.

“Katie! What were you doing!?”

Looking at Alana's eyes, shocked and hurt because her best friend was hiding something so important from her, Katie caved in.

“I had a fight with Caleb and ran away. And I got lost in the woods behind my house. That's where I met Josh in his beast form.”

Alana's shock got even worse.

“You what!? Caleb? Wait, what was Caleb doing? He was here?”

“Yeah. He came to fight with me after I broke up with him.”

“What!!! Katie, that's awful!”

“Well, I guess…”

Alana hurried to hug her friend and squeezed Katie's head in her embrace.

“I had no idea you were going through that! And you were carrying it all inside you. Why did you even keep all that from me?”

“It's okay. I didn't want you to worry. It was my fault anyway. I was just like, 'we're over', out of nowhere and left him.”

“Oh no, but still, going to your house to argue with you… That's… awful!”

“Yeah.”

“So then, you ran away into the woods behind your house?”

“Yeah.”

“So, then, where is Josh's house, then? Which side did you run to?”

“Uh… In the middle? Straight down”

Alana let her go, and Katie leaned on her straight arms, looking down at the bedspread.

“What do you mean in the middle? No one lives in the middle.”

Alana suddenly gasped and closed her mouth with both hands.

“You don't mean…”

Katie looked at her from under her eyebrows. “Yep.”

“He's…”

“He's the owner of those woods.”

With open mouth, Alana fell on the bed onto Katie's pillow. She jumped up right after and grabbed Katie by the shoulders.

“He's super rich, then!”

“Yeah, he kinda is.”

“So why aren't you… Wait…” Alana looked to the side. “You're not a gold digger. But still!”

“You didn't hear the rest of it.”

“Okay, okay. There's something about his mother and stuff?”

“Yeah, yeah. She's this really powerful witch. I mean, who could literally make people change their appearance? That's not something that happens normally.”

“No, it doesn't!”

“She apparently can change her own appearance, too.”

“Wow!”

“So… Ugh… Um, it's a really difficult situation for Josh. The curse will kill him once he turns twenty one.”

“Wait, like in Beauty and the Beast?”

“Yeah, it's very similar!”

“Oh my gosh! He's going to die!?” Alana closed her mouth with her hands again.

“Yeah.”

“When?”

“This summer, in June.”

“What!? That's like in three months!”

“Yeah.”

“Oh my gosh! Katie! Why didn't you tell me sooner! I hate you!” She dropped her head on her hands. “So not fair, how could you keep this from me!”

“I'm sorry! I didn't know myself what I could talk about! I asked him if I could tell you, after we became friends, I mean, it's a sensitive issue.”

“Yeah, I know. You had to get him to trust you first.”

“Exactly! I can't just go running my mouth about something like this.”

“Wow, so the owner of that huge piece of land is a monster. Who hates her own child.”

“Well…”

“Why does she want him to die so bad, though?”

“Apparently, to take his life force and extend her own life.”

“What!? That's so evil! Who does that!? Are there even people like that on this earth?”

“I know, it's super sad.”

“So wait, you said you were doing some kind of research to help him? What are you trying to do?”

“I'm reading about magic and stuff, to see if anything can be done to undo the curse.”

“Wow! Are you serious!? You're doing that? Amazing!”

Katie pressed her lips together and looked to the side.

“But isn't that super scary? I mean, you're going against his mother, who can turn people into monsters.”

“I guess? I'm not going directly against her, though, I just want to learn as much as I can about it.”

“And what will you do after that?”

“See if I can do anything?”

“Wow.”

Alana fell back on the bed again and went quiet. Katie let her think about it and laid down on the bed herself.

She felt a compelling desire to talk to Josh again. She had so many things to figure out about his curse, about herself and the world.

How did he find the strength to forgive his mother? When did that happen? What steps did his mind go through to achieve that? Was it something normal people did? Or was he just different? She was undecided between crazy and something… she didn't know yet about people. Their ability to love.

“So, what are you doing for your research?” Alana asked without getting up from the bed.

“Josh's girlfriend gave me some books to read on the stuff.”

“Oh, that's nice.”

“But, he… broke up with her out of nowhere.”

“Wait what?” She jerked up to sit and stared at Katie.

“Yeah, like, yesterday. And I think it affected him in a bad way.”

“It did? I can't imagine what he must be going through with everything, and now even breaking up with his girlfriend! He must be feeling really depressed!”

“No. Strangely, he's okay with it.”

“He's okay with it?”

“Yeah.”

“With his own death?”

“Yeah.”

“It's that bad, huh?”

“No, he doesn't want to die. But he doesn't mind if he does.”

“What? Who can do that?”

“No idea. He's weird that way. Though, he knew that he'll die for years.”

“Hmm.” Alana laid next to Katie on her side. “But doesn't it mean he's available?”

Katie chuckled. “I think dating is the last thing on his mind right now. If I don't find any way to break the curse, he'll die in three months. I wouldn't want to even talk to people if I were him.”

“No, me neither. I'd just cry every day.”

“Me too.”

“He sounds like an amazing person. I want to meet him.”

Katie smiled. “Yeah, let me talk to him. Maybe you can come over the next time I go there. His friends are pretty cool, too.”

“Oh, you mean that hottie, what's his name?”

“Tyler.”

“Tyler. So, what other friends does he have?”

“He's also friends with Chuck, an Asian guy. I think Chuck is his closest friend.”

“Hm, is he good looking?”

“Yeah, Chuck is cute.”

“Great! So you're friends with three handsome guys and you waited this long to introduce me?”

“Oh boy, here we go. Aren't you with that guy, Derek?”

She chuckled and grinned. “But he's not involved in super secret magic tragedy. He's kinda meh to be honest. I think I will like Josh's friends, too.”

Katie frowned, disapproving of her.

Alana giggled, “No, I'm kidding, I'm not going to hook up with anyone there, I get as much.”

“Good.”

“But it'd be nice to have good friends, you know? Just friends.”

“Yeah.”

“So, I get what you mean about real friends. I think it'd be nice.”

“Mhm.”

Alana didn't stay long after their conversation. They both had lots of homework to do.

  


  



	13. Chapter 13

When Katie walked to school from the parking lot, she noticed groups of students standing on the grass lawn in front of the main entrance and talking. They all looked concerned and weren't in a hurry to go inside. She walked up to one of the groups, looking around to hopefully see what the problem was.

“Hey, what's going on?” she asked a black girl in a beanie.

She looked at Katie and said, “Your boyfriend's in the hospital.”

“What!?”

The rest of the people in the group turned to her and one guy explained, “Andrew was pushed off that cliff over there this morning.”

Katie's breath stopped and she stared at him with shock.

“He was riding his skateboard to school, and some dude jumped him when he was crossing the bridge over the creek, right when you get to the parking lot,” the guy pointed to the location of the crime, and Katie looked over there. There were police cars and some more students and teachers there. Katie squeezed her backpack straps and walked to the creek.

She quickly texted Alana, Caleb, and Andrew while she was walking across the parking lot. There were other students running to the spot where police was.

Caleb texted that he was already at the creek, and he was one of the guys who pulled Andrew up from the bottom of the roughly thirty feet of rocky cliff down to the small stream below. He said Andrew wasn't too bad, but probably broke an arm and sprained an ankle.

Alana said she was on her way, and that the school made an announcement that first two periods were canceled.

When Katie approached Caleb standing to the side, he looked so worried and distraught. They hugged and walked towards the spot where it happened.

“I didn't see it happen, I just parked my car and heard yells and screams. Then, when I came over here, they were saying that someone was pushed down the cliff. So, I climbed down, and sure enough, it was Andrew.”

“What do you mean? Sure enough?”

Caleb looked at her seriously. “You didn't know? Our team is being targeted right now. They spilled bleach on our locker room floor, and urinated all over. Our poor janitor had to wear a legit gas mask to clean that up.”

“Oh my gosh! Who would do that kind of thing?”

A police officer, a white middle aged man, walked over and told everyone to stay further away from the cliff edge, pulling a yellow tape to make a boundary. Katie and Caleb stepped aside.

“So, where did they take him?” She asked.

“I think, the Methodist Hospital. Why, you wanna go?”

“Yeah. Imma go.”

“I'll stay, I need to write the police report. Tell him I'll be there later.”

“Okay.”

Katie went to her car, texting Alana, and saw the principal walking towards the site with some other school staff and police. Things were looking serious.

She spent two hours at the emergency room before they let her see Andrew. He looked pretty bad. Busted face with scratches and bruises, lots of gauze and tape, and his every limb was wrapped in something. There was a boot on his left leg.

“Heeeey, Katie,” he said, a little high from the pain killers.

“Andrew,” she said, and gave him a small hug while he stayed in bed. “How are you feeling?”

“High as a raccoon in a liquor shop,” he smiled with his bloody mouth, and Katie sighed. “But you don't worry your pretty head about me, I'll be fiiiine. I won't go exin- exssing- ext-teeenkt just yet.”

“Yeah, take care of yourself, Andrew. Take it easy!”

“Yeah, I'm taking it easy over here. I'm 'ere in bed, and they poking me with stuff. They said I have broken ribs, and a blood vessel ruptured in my leg, and God knows what else. But I'll be fiiiine. Man, I was so in love with you, you have no idea…”

Katie opened her mouth, staring at him in surprise and looked around to see if anyone heard. A nurse passed by, a slightly overweight middle age white woman with blonde hair, and she raised her eyebrows and looked at them from the side with an embarrassed expression, hurrying to pass Andrew's bed quicker to get out of their space.

Andrew looked at her with eyes glassy and hooded from the drugs, but there was also longing in them. He gently touched her hand with his finger tips and spoke laboriously.

“Ever since you transferred to our school in our freshman year, I noticed you. Man, you were so serious. You know? You get this serious look sometimes,” he frowned, smiling, “You're so smart and so so strong! And beautiful! It's hard to make you laugh. And man, I wanted to make you laugh so much. But I was scared of you.”

“Scared?”

“Yeah. You were so dang hard to approach, you know? You can look so scary sometimes! And then you started datin' different guys, so I was kinda, she's not into me… But the time was runnin' out, and you never asked me out… And then you dated my buddy… That hurt, man. And then one time he thought you were cheetin' with me, that was so messed up!”

Katie stood there by his bedside in the emergency department, only a thin curtain separating them from other patients, doctors, and nurses, but it didn't matter. A feeling of deep regret overcame her.

Maybe, if she dated Andrew from the start, she could've had a healthy long term relationship with him, because from the first moment she saw him, she liked him. He was the pinnacle of everything she wanted in a man.

She sighed and squeezed his hand. “You get better soon, okay?”

“Okay. Thanks for coming and seeing me! Sorry about all the…”

“Hey, dude, hey Katie,” said Caleb as he walked into the curtained “room” with plastic bags full of stuff that looked like food and clothes.

Katie let go of Andrew's hand and stepped back. She then greeted Caleb, and left.

When she got back to school, there was smoke everywhere inside, and pure mayhem. She looked around, standing by the front door, trying to figure out what was going on. Everyone was running back and forth, yelling, talking loudly. She heard a series of bangs and shrieks to the left of her. It looked like firecrackers, released inside the school!

“I thought the prank day wasn't until April first, it's not even the end of March yet!” Said someone running by Katie.

She fixed her backpack and decisively tread through the disorderly students to her class. She had no time for all this nonsense.

As she sat there taking a test, there were more bangs and screams heard from the hallway. The teacher sighed and asked them to stay in their seats and finish the test. He also promised to curve the grade to account for the circumstances, to which everyone in the class cheered.

Katie's head was spinning. She had been preparing for the Math test for two weeks. She needed an A, but could get away with a B, since her final grade had a very strong chance to be an A. Her studying ethics was such that she liked to work hard during the entire semester, and then take it easy during the finals to not get overwhelmed. Most often, even if she got a C on a final, her course grade would still be an A thanks to all the work she did during the semester. For some of the courses, she didn't even study for finals, especially if they were cumulative.

Caleb texted her later that the football team locker room had an entire box of outside rated fireworks released, and the entire room was wrecked. Nobody still knows who did it, and they even involved the police to investigate the prank inside the school.

Her brain was screaming at her that she was dealing with too much with school work, and now these pranks, Andrew being in the hospital, and most importantly, Josh and trying to talk him into giving her reading materials for research. Their recent squabbles caused her a lot more stress than she usually allowed herself. She avoided serious relationships with boys precisely to avoid drama and stress, but it turned out that having friends wasn't all peachy either.

By lunch, everything went back to normal. Students were still a little on edge and jumpy, but lunch passed without issues. Katie met with Alana, and they talked about Andrew and his condition, but Katie didn't mention his confession. On a normal day, she would have told everything to her friend, but she was so confused about it all that she didn't know how she herself felt about it.

When Katie was getting up from the table, a girl walked up to her. Katie looked up and recognized Evelyn, one of the popular girls. She was in every sense a preppy girl, too blonde and too pink for an off the screen real life high school.

“So,” Evelyn said, crossing her arms and looking at Katie like she shot every one of Evelyn's puppies. “Are you happy now? Andrew's in the hospital!”

Katie frowned and looked over at Alana opposite her. Alana shrugged and shook her head.

“How can I be happy? What are you saying?”

“He was pushed over the cliff because of you, dummy, don't you get it?”

“What do you mean?”

“You dirty slut, getting your filthy hands into something way over your head. So, I'm asking, are you happy now? For causing all the drama.”

Katie backed off away from her, raising her hands in front of her. “I literally have _no_ idea what you're talking about.”

“Isn't it Caleb who pushed Andrew off the cliff? Because of you! They have been best friends since elementary school. All it took was one slut like you to ruin it. Now the whole team's gonna suffer.”

“What!? Caleb wouldn't do something like that!”

“Consider yourself warned,” Evelyn turned around so forcefully that her long blonde hair whipped through the air, and walked away artificially swaying her hips.

Katie's eyes got wide, and she looked at Alana, who was just as shocked at the scene. The two girls snorted and laughed, walking to the garbage can.

Katie looked behind her discretely and saw Evelyn walk over to a group of girls who were cheerleaders for the football team who all looked concerned and even desperate. Evelyn wasn't a cheerleader herself, so maybe she elected herself to be their official PR specialist?

***

The next day was Friday, when Katie agreed with Josh to bring Alana over. Since Harold loved guests so much, of course they were to stay for dinner as well.

School life had gone back to normal, but rumors were abound about Katie, Andrew, Caleb, and the football team. Andrew seemed to be doing well and was going to be released in a few days. He could still play at their last big game in May, but he had to skip practice for a whole month after the accident.

The police still didn't have anything concrete to say about who pushed Andrew. There was a security footage found that showed a white boy in a hoodie run up to Andrew and attack him, but it wasn't clear who it was. It sure wasn't Caleb, though. Katie knew that it wasn't from the start, but it was a relief for her that everyone else at the school was reassured, too.

She gladly left all the troubles behind her and drove to Josh's place with Alana in her car. There was a gorgeous sunset in front of them, with vibrant reds, pinks, and purples splattered all over the skies.

As she pulled up to the gate and drove through slowly, she entered another world. All around her, the trees were as if asleep, like in an enchanted forest. It was awfully quiet and damp, as if there was a beautiful sleeping princess in the highest room of the tallest tower awaiting someone to awaken her, preferably a ten and of royal blood.

As she drove down the driveway and to the right of the house to park, her spirits had calmed down, her mind relaxed, and her mouth smiled on its own.

“Wow!” Alana said. “I had no idea this was in the woods! It's a _mansion_! No, it's a _castle_! Like, who are these people?”

“I think they're nobles or something,” Katie mumbled. “From Europe. Or whatever.”

“Wow! Nobles?”

“I dunno exactly. But only Josh lives here with his gardener.”

Katie took Alana through the main gate in the front yard, down the center of the courtyard, upon the cobblestone path that Josh took her down to the front door a couple weeks ago. It seemed like ages have passed since then.

Harold opened the door and made a soft gasp. “They're multiplying!” He then proceeded to grin widely and welcome Alana into their residence. “Thank you for bringing your friend over, Katie,” he said quietly as she was passing him.

Katie smiled in response. Josh stumbled out of the game room, tripping on wires – the mess was probably back again in that room – and walked up to the entrance room to say hello, smiling.

Alana bugged her eyes out as they were shaking hands. “God,” she said, “You are the most beautiful person I've ever seen.”

Josh flinched and turned away, feeling shy from the compliment. His eyes went to the side, and his hand rubbed the back of his neck.

Alana curled her fists at her chest and bent down a little in a cutesy way. “But you're so brave and manly, too! Katie told me all about your situation! I'm rooting for you!”

Josh looked at Katie, pointing at her, “Uh… who's this person?”

“Um, this is Alana, she's a little too earnest sometimes.”

“No, but how can I not be earnest! You are Katie's other best friend! We need to be friends, too!”

“Um, okay? Other best friend?” He looked at Katie, who shrugged.

Harold chuckled, standing to the back.

They heard steps down the hallway, and it startled Katie, she didn't expect anyone else to be in the house. It was Tyler.

“What's going on here?” Tyler said, walking up to them. His huge figure was hard to ignore, and everyone turned to him. “Oh, Katie, you brought a friend over?”

“Hello,” Katie said.

Tyler went for a quick side hug with Katie, and shook hands with Alana, who behaved completely normally in front of him, dropping her funky act when she was introduced to Josh.

“Nice to meet you, Tyler, I'm Alana, Katie's friend! It's such a nice house!”

“Hello, yeah, it's pretty awesome!”

Josh stood to the side with hands in his jean pockets, rising his shoulders to make him look smaller. His hair got longer, falling on his faded blue t-shirt. Katie stood beside him, and she noticed that his hair had been combed, for once. But it was wavy, so combing it made it look puffy and big. Did he not even look in the mirror?

“What.” He muttered quietly, noticing her staring at his unruly mane, while Tyler and Alana were chatting away about the neighborhood, the woods, how long they've been friends with Josh etc.

“You look like Mowgli.”

He smiled and chuckled. “Do I?”

“Yes. Would you like my hairband?”

“No… I got my own in the pocket.”

“Please put it on.”

“Okay.”

“Well, listen,” Tyler said with his smooth but thunderous voice, “I gotta go for now, since I gotta take my mom to a doctor's appointment. But let's all get together sometime!”

“Yeah, great idea, Tyler!” Katie replied.

Tyler looked at her and nodded. He saluted Josh, said bye to Alana and Harold, and walked out the door, grabbing his phone out of his back pant pocket.

Okay, but Tyler was so unfair. His smile was captivating, formed by those sexy lips, but it was also his green eyes that seemed to widen slightly when he looked at Katie. Was she imagining it? He left her in a daze, and it only made her current state of confusion worse. She sighed and followed Harold and Josh to the kitchen.

There was a pile of food on the island, and it was already attended to by Tyler and Josh earlier.

“Sorry, we actually do have a proper dinner ready,” Josh apologized.

“Whoa,” Alana said, looking all around the kitchen. “This house is just… awesome!”

“Thanks,” Josh said with a smirk, not very sincerely.

Katie looked what was on the island, picked up a chip and dipped it in cheese sauce.

“You actually live here, that is crazy!” Alana wasn't stopping being blown away by everything.

Harold was fussing about the stove that had pots and pans full of food on it, and Josh stepped aside to put his hair in a ponytail as the girls stopped by the island to eat the snacks.

Then they all proceeded to go to the dining room, carrying some of the snacks there.

Alana shifted her focus from the house to Josh. She sat next to him, even though she was served at the seat beside Katie, and crunched on the chips, almost laying across the table with her head propped on her hand.

“So, Katie told me that she met you in the woods when you were in your _other_ form.”

“I call him a wereyeti.”

Alana looked at her and smiled. She looked back at him, peering at his face. Poor boy didn't know where to look or what to do. He seemed to dislike to be the center of attention and became awkward and quiet.

“I could bet twenty bucks that you were more scared of Katie than she of you when you two met.” She bit a particularly large chip confidently.

Josh and Katie both snorted but didn't say anything.

Alana's eyes were so big, that when she watched someone closely, her gaze was particularly intense, even if she loved to appear to be a harmless and cute creature who may or may not have been that bright.

“Didn't you say he was manly and brave back there?” Katie teased her, and Josh pleaded her with his eyes to stop discussing him.

“Oh, don't you say, Katie, you turn even the most brave dudes into wimps!”

“What? No I don't!”

“Yeah, Katie, you can be super scary!”

“That's not true!”

Katie remembered what Andrew said to her in the hospital. Was she really that scary? Or were they just messing with her?

She looked at Josh, but his expression neither confirmed nor denied it.

“Do you know how many guys asked me to talk to you because they were too scared to approach you?” Alana said, watching Katie with those suspicious eyes.

“Huh?”

“Yeah! Of course, I'd never tell you about them, I'm not their errand girl.”

“No, but you're talking about boys who liked me. Sure, they'd be scared-”

“Pff!” Alana burst out laughing. “She even admits it!”

Josh chuckled.

“It's not like I'm a scary person in general.”

“Katie? Scary?” Harold commented, bringing over the food and setting plates in front of each person. He prepared a seat for himself again at the head of the table. Everyone looked at him, and then at the food that was smelling divine. It was lasagna.

“I would say that she can be… fierce,” Harold explained. “Sometimes. But mostly, she's just willful and decisive.”

Katie watched him place the plate on the table in front of her and then leave to get another plate from the kitchen.

“Hmm,” Alana hummed, playing with the fork in her mouth. “So, Josh, you have a girlfriend, Katie said?”

“Uh… I did, we broke up the other day.”

Alana jumped off the table she was laying across to sit upright with a gasp. “You what!?”

“What? What is it about my girlfriend that everyone reacts like that?” Josh complained.

Alana looked at Katie with anger because Katie didn't tell her, and Katie scratched the back of her head, looking down, guilty.

“Oh, no, sorry, Josh,” Alana apologized, “I was just so happy for your relationship, it's so good to have someone by your side when your life is… as difficult as yours.”

That was a total lie. Alana was plotting something. Katie glared at her, but she wasn't stopping.

“Well…” Josh replied, unsure what to say to that.

“I hope it wasn't because of Katie, she's known as the breakup queen at our school. Girls hate her.”

“No I'm not! What are you talking about!?” Katie was genuinely shocked at what her friend was saying.

Josh looked at Katie and chuckled, and Katie looked to the side, flustered.

“No, we broke up before my girlfriend and Katie met, and it wasn't because of her, I mean…”

“Oh,” Alana responded.

“But…” Josh uttered, and both girls' eyes turned to him. “Actually… Katie asked for some materials to research, so I had to call Minnie, my girlfriend, uh… former… girlfriend, since she has a whole library full of the stuff at her house… so we ended up talking about our issues while we were at it.”

Katie opened her mouth and gasped. “Josh, are you serious!? It _was_ because of me! I'm so sorry!”

“No, it's not your fault. I'm glad that we got that over with. Our relationship wasn't that great, anyways.”

“Hm,” Alana said. “So, it wasn't because you're scheduled to die in three months?”

Josh looked at her seriously, surprised by her directness.

Katie sat with eyes wide. She didn't know why her friend was behaving like that.

Alana squinted at him, sipping her water.

“What do you imply by that?” Josh asked finally after a long pause.

“Cuz you'd rather be an ex boyfriend than a late one.”

He blinked and stared at her. That phrase hit him like a brick.

She bent down over the table towards him, getting into his personal space.

“Listen, the worst thing you can do to a girl is deny her love when you think you're protecting her. A girl that loves you wants to be with you till the end. I just wanna be honest with you because I'm your friend. So, I think you've made a big mistake.”

Josh looked at Katie to save him, but she put her forehead on her hand and refused to follow the conversation.

His eyes looked around the room to search for an answer, and he replied after a while. “Um… It wasn't like that…”

“Yeah, you just denied her the right to see you off into the afterlife. Because when you love someone, you wanna be next to them when they pass on and hold them in your arms. I mean, I'm sorry for saying all this, but there's freaking no time to mess around! These are super important things!”

“She doesn't love me anymore, though.”

Alana stared at him from under her eyebrows intensely, then looked away and waved her hand hanging loosely off her arm. “Okay.”

Josh smiled timidly and said quietly, “Katie was also mad at me for breaking up with her. What's up with you girls getting into my business.”

“Because we care about you,” Alana stated, grabbing a piece of garlic bread off the basket in the middle of the table. “And when you care about someone and you see them walking into a huge mistake, you tell them,” she turned to Katie opposite her. “ _Right_?”

Katie looked like she was about to explode. She made a loud sigh, got up from the chair, and walked away, shaking her head.

“I need to cool my head,” she said, and went to the bathroom.

Alana smiled, but Josh was terrified to be left alone with this vicious girl.

“Hey, are you mad at me for something,” he asked carefully.

“Oh? Of course I'm mad at you!”

“Why? What did I do?”

She pushed her chair away and got up from the table, sighing. She stepped away with her back to him and hands in her sweater pockets.

“As soon as I walked in through the front door, I saw it… It was clear as day. Katie's dumb, she's never been in love before, but not me. I've been hurt before, and I know how it feels.” She turned with her side to him and looked at him with sadness. “And you know, it's not your girlfriend I was talking about earlier.”

He stared at her with eyes wide but couldn't say anything.

“And I also know that the toughest thing to do sometimes is to be honest. But in this case… You just don't have the time not to be. Please don't be stupid and fix the awful mistake you're making right now.”

She walked around the table and out of the room. She went to the kitchen to find Harold, who was trying to look busy there because he was too scared to walk into the conversation that was going on in the dining room.

“Hey, mister butler, could you drive me home, please? I forgot I left my little sister all alone at home. Katie would like to stay over longer.”

“Oh, is she? Alright, let me go get the car.”

“Thank you!” She smiled and lowered her head a little to the side like the most innocent lamb.

Katie came out of the bathroom when Alana was going outside and ran out after her.

“What was that!?” She yelled at her in the courtyard. “Are you out of your mind? What is wrong with you?”

“Nothing's wrong with me. You know I love you. You're my sister. Right now you don't understand what I did. But you'll be thanking me later. Adios.”

Alana turned around and walked towards the driveway where Harold picked her up and drove away.

Katie remained in the courtyard, with tears flowing down her cheeks. She fell on her knees, and all her pent up emotions suddenly flowed out of her. Her heart was aching so bad like it was pierced by a dagger. She bent forward and put her face on the palms of her hands that caught her tears and stifled her sobs.

She didn't feel the chilly night breeze on her bare arms, neither the roughness of the cobblestone, she only felt like she was being swallowed by an abyss. There was despair and fear, like it was her who was about to disappear.

“Katie!” Josh called, ran up to her, and squatted, pulling her up off the pavement. He held her up by her upper arms. “What did she say to you!? Hey…”

He wrapped his arms around her and pressed her head against his chest. It was so warm… And his heart was beating so fast. And at that moment, Katie realized, that their hearts had been connected as if by a tether, like two cars driving on the road. But who was pulling who, she couldn't tell.

She's been together with so many guys before. She'd given them her body. But she'd been walking around love on her tippy toes, avoiding it at all cost. But this wasn't the thing she had been side stepping. This wasn't the thing they were singing on the radio about. What was this, then?

It felt so comfortable, in his arms. There was calmness spreading over her, a profound stillness that nothing could disturb. And the abyss moved back away from her, replaced by a crystal clear conviction.

“I'm sorry, Josh… I can't love your mother.” She squeezed her hands into fists. “I need to go now.”

She got up and walked away towards the courtyard gate. And to him, she looked like an eagle soaring high in the sky, looking for its prey. He only hoped that those talons went for the dive, gently.

 


	14. Chapter 14

 

She didn't know what it was.

What was the thing between him and her?

The only word her mental library provided was “weird”.

He had some kind of hold on her heart, on the very base of her being.

Maybe, she needed forgiveness, too.

And if he didn't exist, then she'd never know it.

That was what she felt.

However, the “weird” was also there. And she had to do something about that, fast, because, in her experience, if they didn't talk about it upfront and make it normal again, they'd never be able to talk as usual, it'd be super awkward. More than anything, she didn't want that.

So, when she got back home, she texted him.

K>> “I'm so sorry about the water works in the front yard!!! I'm so glad you don't have neighbors close by! Alana said something to me before leaving, so… I guess I'm also under stress with school and stuff, and a friend of mine is in the hospital, too. So, everything just piled up and made me bawl my eyes out. I'm so embarrassed about it rn, so sorry!”

J>> “Oh, no, that's totally fine, I got so worried, tho! I hope you two can make up! I feel guilty, was it because of me that you guys were fighting?”

K>> “No, we're not fighting. We're cool. We have the kind of relationship where we are super honest about our feelings, so sometimes we fight, but it's because we care about each other a lot.”

J>> “Well, that explains things. I hope your friend that's in the hospital gets better!”

J>> “I thought you didn't have any more friends?”

K>> “Ahaha, he's my ex's best friend, so we are more like acquaintances?”

J>> “Is that the guy who chased you into the woods?”

K>> “Yeah, that's the one. Again, he didn't chase me, I ran away.”

J>> “Right! Is he still threatening you?”

K>> “Nah, we're cool, he apologized. He's not like that usually.”

J>> “Okay, just be careful.”

K>> “Yeah.”

K>> “I gotta go for now, see you next time.”

J>> “Okay, see you later.”

Next Katie texted Alana.

K>> “Dude.”

A>> “I'm so sorry!!!!  😭😭😭”

K>> “But seriously, what were you trying to do?”

A>> “Are you mad at me? I'm sorry! 😧”

Katie sighed.

K>> “I'm not. I just don't understand.”

A>> “I don't know myself what came over me. You know I never get that mad!”

K>> “You didn't like Josh? What was the deal?”

A>> “Oh, no, I liked him a lot. I got mad at him because you care so much about him but he is so careless and broke up with his girlfriend!”

K>> “I know, right? I met her, too, she seemed so nice!”

A>> “Wow! That makes me even more mad! 😠 Why did they broke up!?”

K>> “He said she desn't love him anymore.”

A>> “But how could she do that three months before his death??? That's cruel on her part! But I think it was him that broke up with her.”

K>> “Probably, yeah. I think he wanted closure, like, he didn't want any loose ends before his death.”

A>> “Yeah, that makes sense. But dude, he's not skinny at all!!! That's what normal weight boys looks like, bro! Your standards are just impossibly high, smh.”

K>> “Oh haha, yeah, after dating a bunch of football guys every boy looks super skinny to me.”

A>> “But wow, I've never seen any human being as good looking as him, not a single man or woman. How's that even possible?”

K>> “Yeah, I think it has something to do with his mother.”

Alana attached the “Aliens” guy meme but instead of “Aliens” it said “Magic”. Katie laughed and attached the “Witchcraft!” gif from Hunchback of Notre Dame.

A>> “Magic boy! Did you see that butt though? And how awkward and dorky he is, he's adorable!”

K>> “He's a nerd who plays video games all day :/”

A>> “Like that's totally not what you'd be doing if you had three months to live.”

K>> “I don't think so! I'd be traveling the world!”

A>> “But like, if you knew for three years when you'd die? After you've traveled everywhere and ran out of all options?”

K>> “Well, maybe.”

A>> “It's not his fault. And I think he's totally cute. I mean, aside from being pretty, because not all pretty boys are cute.”

K>> “I guess.png”

A>> “It's the truth!”

K>> “Sure, sure, gurl.”

A>> “Sure, sure, gerl.”

K>> “Surely, surely, maiden.”

A>> “Declaration of assured certainty, young human female.”

K>> “Collection of vibrations of the vocal flaps that symbolize a concept of confidence without a doubt, multicellular life form in the early life of the egg-producing gender.”

Alana posted the meme with the CGI figure achieving a state of enlightenment.

A>> “We have achieved it, the end!”

K>> “The ultimate goal!”

A>> “Hey, so, are you like, on meme base with Josh?”

K>> “The what? 🤣 🤣 🤣 ”

A>> “You know? There's the first base, the second base, the third base, and then the meme base that's like the highest level of base.”

K>> “Dude, we didn't go through any of those.”

A>> “No, but that's the thing, you can skip all the other bases and go right into meme base! That's ultimate romance!”

K>> “Girl, I don't know what you're saying anymore.”

A>> “Haha, sorry, I'm dumb sometimes, lol! Can you text me Josh's phone number so I can apologize to him? I lost my temper back there. I hope he doesn't hate me and we can still be friends!”

K>> “Sure, I don't think he hates you. You totally lost your marbles back there, tho. So, an apology would be good.”

A>> “I'm sorry! Yes, I need to do that.”

Katie forwarded Josh's contact info to Alana.

A>> “Thanks!”

K>> “Np.”

A>> “I'll see you Monday 😘💕💕💕”

K>> “Later gater.”

Katie put her phone away and finally got into the books that Minnie prepared for her. One was on contracts with what it called “entities”. It listed their names and what procedures were required for each one to establish a contract. Of course, it was only for witches initiated into the dark arts. All in all, there was a lot of Latin and weirdly specific requirements and recipes. She didn't even know what most of the items were or where to get them in the current century.

The book also stated that a witch could have contracts with multiple entities and basically borrowed their power. It conveniently omitted the part where the witch also had to upkeep expectations from the entities, as Josh was telling about his mother. So, it was questionable who was doing whose bidding.

She skipped ahead to read the general rules about contracts, and how to absolve them, or if it were possible to absolve someone else's contract.

There wasn't any information on that. Contracts were basically for life and were rarely broken. This was because the witch literally sold her soul, so, what could she pay to get out of it?

Maybe, someone else's life?

It was quickly getting into criminal territory. Nevertheless, she read the introduction, the general rules, and the other parts of the book, including some of the rituals. It said that there was a way to find out the name of the entity contracted to another witch, but it was a high level procedure.

Normal people or entry level witches couldn't perform most of what was written in the book. And it also said that often these entities themselves picked the witches they wanted ~~as slave~~ ~~s~~ to work with. That was the single scariest sentence in the entire book.

So, that route wasn't the best option. She looked through the other three books. They were smaller and older and had more practical information on simple spells and rituals. Again, there were lots of random stuff. But none of the more serious kind like transfer of life force.

One of the books had a general chapter on rituals, and said that the more high level a spell was, the more steps it entailed, and the more complex it was. Some spells may take even years to accomplish and require many rare and unique items to be used in specific ways. Every witch had a safe place where she or he would set up the rituals where they would be undisturbed. Some rituals required the items to stay in place until the spell was complete. For this reason, witches placed curses on these secret locations, and protected them at all cost.

Huh. That was definitely getting more relevant. If Josh's spell was initiated before he was born, there must be a location where the ritual was first established. So, Josh himself is supposed to be one of the items, a sacrifice.

One of the other, smaller, books had a small section on sacrifice, but it only mentioned animal sacrifice. It said that human sacrifice was an advanced technique, and that was it.

So, technically, if they found the mother's lair where she had set up the ritual and somehow disrupted it, Josh wouldn't have to be sacrificed. But that also meant that the lair would be protected the most. Josh would definitely not want to go there.

She went to bed with a little more hope than before. She was finally getting some answers.

***

She woke up closer to noon since she stayed up late last night. Her mom was doing laundry, and her brother was having breakfast downstairs.

She stayed in bed for a while, listening to what was going on in the house, and there were no sounds beside the weather channel on their TV in the living room.

In the shower, she let the hot water fall on her face, as she was remembering the details of what happened the day before at Josh's house. There was a deep wound still in her heart, it was that same dark abyss, a pitch black void that threatened to envelope her being, and she was standing on its edge.

When she gazed deep inside it, she found hatred, for herself. In fact, it had always been there, she just never paid attention to it. It was slowly eating her up, little by little. And she felt that Josh knew something that she didn't, and maybe it could help her dispel it.

She needed to talk to him again, but at the same time, she needed to find a cure for him! What should be her priority?

It was History, naturally. And Chemistry. Right, back to those.

Saturdays were typically quiet days for her. She stayed home and did homework. She also watched shows and researched makeup tutorials and products. She loved to experiment with looks and makeup and then publish successes on social media.

But the carefree days were over for her. After quickly doing bare minimum on her school subjects, she went back to read Minnie's books alongside with her laptop to look up various terms and practices. She even looked up the names of the “entities” online, and boy, was those pages scary. How would anyone get into that stuff?

She quickly closed the tabs and fell on her bed, thinking about all the information she found. She was vastly outmatched in this battle. There was no way she could even approach breaking the curse. Josh's mother most likely had contracts with literal demons, interdimentional forces of evil, and how would she, a mere mortal, even begin to think about beating them?

There still could be a way, though! She didn't want to give up, she just needed more info. Preferably on the particular ritual of life transfer.

Caleb texted her later that day.

C>> “Hey, Katie, how are you? Listen, I got a question. Did you notice anything weird going on with our cheerleader team? I think something terrible is happening, like, the stuff with Andrew, then our team locker room, and now the cheerleaders.”

K>> “No idea, I'm not close with any of them, haven't heard anything.”

C>> “Heard two of them quit. Is someone threatening them or something?”

K>> “Like I said, no idea. Ask one of them, didn't you have the number of their leader, Kalee?”

C>> “Yeah, talked to her, she doesn't know anything either.”

K>> “Sorry.”

C>> “I'm doing a little investigation on my own here, so.”

K>> “I see, that's good. Good luck!”

C>> “Aren't you curious? What's going on?”

K>> “Not in particular.”

C>> “You don't wanna find who pushed Andrew?”

K>> “Sure, I do! So, don't forget to let me know when you find out.”

C>> “You don't wanna help?”

K>> “Sorry. Got tied up with something.”

C>> “I was certain you were after Andrew, man, I was so wrong.”

K>> “Glad you realize that.”

C>> “No, but it's weird that you aren't. Like, the way you used to look at him, you know.”

K>> “What way?”

C>> “Like you admire him.”

K>> “I do admire him tho.”

C>> “So, you don't wanna help me find the culprit?”

K>> “How would I even help? It's obviously a team rivalry. Someone has beef with you guys either from another school or from another team in our school. I have no idea who could that even be, so I don't think I'll be useful in any way.”

C>> “Maybe. But like, they tried to pitch me against him by using you. We could still use that to our advantage.”

K>> “Too late for that, it seems like they moved on to direct assault.”

C>> “Yeah, it got pretty crazy! I'm honestly scared of what's gonna happen next.”

K>> “Ikr”

C>> “K, thanks for the pointers, I'll look into what school may be doing this. Andrew's gonna be back in school next week, so maybe we can do it together.”

K>> “Good luck!”

C>> “Thanks!”

K>> “Np.”

C>> “I just don't know who would do this to him, he's such a great guy. There's no way he has haters like that.”

K>> “Yeah, it's shocking.”

C>> “Alright, I'll let you go. You be safe there, as well.”

K>> “Thanks! Bye.”

C>> “Bye!”

She dedicated all of five minutes to thinking about the incident with Andrew. She didn't know the team's rivals that well, or Andrew's surroundings to suspect anyone. There was also Evelyn's weird behavior in the cafeteria the other day. Maybe she was the mastermind behind it all? Katie's guess was as good as anyone's.

She went right back to finishing the last book Minnie gave her, and there was nothing good in it. Another problem was that she didn't even know that much about Josh's curse.

The books said there were different types of rituals and curses. So, technically, knowing the nature of the curse would at least narrow it down. This meant she needed to talk to him, again. Wouldn't that be weird, though? They just had a heart to heart on the mall roof the other day. And that was before she cried in his arms earlier.

So, perhaps it was best if they cooled their heads and the events of that day weren't so fresh in memory when they would talk again.

But she still needed to know more details to continue her research! She couldn't ask it when they met at the mall because she didn't know the stuff she needed to ask yet. Maybe she could just text him? Or talk on the phone?

She walked back and forth in her room, thinking of what to do next. More than anything, she didn't want to bother him, or make him think that she was trying to hit on him. It was him who invited her to talk on the mall roof, though…

She didn't know anymore! It was making her so anxious… She was still super embarrassed about crying on his courtyard. She regretted bringing Alana there. What kind of friend was she? She only brought annoyance and trouble to him. She felt like she herself was selfish and just because she was doing all this important research she demanded his undivided attention. He had his own life, his other friends of many years, his ex girlfriend who he seemed to still care about.

What place did Katie had in his life? She had no right to tell him how to live, or how to treat his family, or to care about anything.

It was probably better if she'd given it a couple days before she'd head over there again. She had school work to do, anyway. There was that midterm essay she had to work on. Right.

Monday, the school was crazier than ever, and she was the center of everyone's attention, and not in a good way. During lunch, the boy that used to always smile at her, the tall curly hair boy, suddenly plopped on the seat opposite Katie at the table, and she stared at him, frozen with the drink in one hand and the wrap she was eating in the other.

“Sup, Katie,” he grinned and placed his forearms on the table. His eyes were saying that his intentions were far from good.

“Can I help you?”

It was all the more annoying because he was sitting on the spot where Alana was going to sit once she got her lunch.

“Oh, how can you _not_ help me? Hmm, literally anything you'd do will be helping me.”

She made a face at him, and he laughed.

“David Rogers,” he stretched his hand for her to shake, “I'm working for the scoop of our blessed school, may she stay for a million years.”

She thought, what a stupid name, as she shook his hand reluctantly.

“Sorry, you probably noticed, but I've been watching you for a long time. You've been the source of juiciest rumors, and now, we find you at the center of the recent tragedy. And I can't help but wonder, is it ever gonna surprise me anymore? A desirable woman like you, causing all kinds of drama.” He sighed, “And even though it's not even that interesting for me, alas, I'm here, doing the work for the masses, because 'tis what they crave.”

She blinked at him. “What the… I'm not causing drama, I loathe it! Why don't you leave me alone, mister David Rogers.” She waved her hand to shoo him off.

David smiled and slithered off the chair, looking at her from the side. He turned around, but then stopped, noting Alana coming back with her tray in the distance. He looked back at her.

“Did you think I was into you all this time?”

Katie stared at his smug face, and sipped on her juice from the straw. “I thought you wanted to be friends. Never though you'd be _this_ kinda guy.”

“Friends?” he asked, surprised as if she was talking about being circus acrobats.

“Nevermind.”

He chuckled and smirked, never a true emotion on display. “Didn't think Katie Blois could be just friends with guys,” he mumbled, “Thought she gotta screw them first.”

“Ugh, just leave.”

“Oh, sorry, I meant screw their best friend… See ya.”

She glared at him, but he turned around, doing the motions of drumroll with his hands in the air as he walked away.

She really tried this time, okay? She tried to be nice and honest. These people were just toxic. There wasn't anyone she'd want to be friends with, anywhere.

But hey, she had Alana, Josh, Harold, and Chuck and Tyler, and she didn't feel like she needed any more. She couldn't be greedy, and even that was already more than she deserved.

“Oof,” said a voice at a neighboring table on the right. “That was rough. Why does everyone hate you so much?”

Katie turned and saw a girl with round cheeks and long brown hair. She was plain looking, with a dress code that could be summarized with the word “comfy”.

“I dunno. And honestly don't wanna know,” she replied.

“Mood.” She chuckled, “Did you seriously wanna be friends with David?”

“Um…”

“He's like the resident bad journalist stereotype, he sold his soul to the scoop. He'll do anything to get under your skin, and then publish whatever he gets you to confess by doing that.”

Katie stared at her with horror, good thing he left her alone.

Alana walked up to the table and placed her tray on the table opposite Katie where David was sitting just a moment ago.

“Geez, who was that creep?”

“Oh, sorry, I'll stay out of your business,” the girl responded and turned away.

“Oh, no, dude, I wasn't talking about you, it was about that guy,” Alana glanced back over her shoulder.

“Oh, okay. I'm Brianna, by the way.”

“I'm Katie.”

“I'm Alana, nice to meet you, Brianna.”

“Thank you! You guys seem nicer than everyone says.”

Both Alana and Katie showed disgust on their faces, to which Brianna laughed.

“Yeah, they say you're like this two girl clique who hates the world, or something.”

Katie and Alana looked at each other and then back at the girl.

“It's sorta true, though,” Alana replied. “But the world hated us, first.”

“Ahaha, same though.”

They all exchanged their social media and numbers and talked over lunch, after Brianna joined their table. It turned out that their new friend was in two classes with Katie and one with Alana. She was also a senior and was going to Stanford after graduation as an English major.

“So, did you guys see what everyone's talking about Katie?” Brianna asked while scrolling up on her phone fast.

“No,” Katie replied deadpan.

“Yeah, Evelyn Greer's been talking crap about you for a long time, dude! She hates your guts!”

“What else is new,” Katie said and looked away.

“No, but, don't you care why? There's also Jessie Larde, and a bunch of other people in the Katie Salt Club.”

“Isn't Jessie in the cheerleader group?” Alana asked.

“Yeah, she is,” Katie said.

“They all think you seduced Andrew and took him for yourself from those who had been crushing on him for years,” Brianna explained. “But I mean, I have nothing against that, I'm not in love with him or anything.”

“We're not dating. There was nothing between us.”

“Wait, you're not? The whole school thinks you guys are together!”

“Nope. We're friends. That's it.”

Alana studied Katie's expressions, but Katie didn't notice it.

“Katie's not interested in Andrew.” Alana stated definitively.

Brianna looked up at her from her phone. Katie frowned slightly and stared at her bestie. Alana said it with the kind of tone to imply that Katie was into somebody else. Katie's frown deepened, and Alana stirred the ice in her cup with her straw, without any shame or regret.

“Wow, even that, huh?” Brianna wondered. She missed the girls' wordless exchange, however.

When lunch was over, the girls said bye to Brianna, and talked about her a bit that she was a nice person for once. This schools could use some more of those.

When Katie was finally alone going towards her class, she noticed the pressing thought that she needed to talk to Josh asap resurfacing back to her consciousness. It had been there in the background, making her anxious and distracted more than usual. There was the specifics of the curse part, then his relationship with his mother part, then how on earth was he cool with dying part, and also maybe more details about his mother's life part, and so much more. She sighed and rolled her eyes at herself, she should stop stressing about it already and just go and talk to him. He wasn't gonna think anything weird about it!

Maybe she should just make it clear to him that she wasn't into him in that way. Because it would be bad if he misunderstood her…

It was all too silly, though, because when she flirted, she never pulled her punches, and it was quite obvious when she wanted to hook up with a guy. Why was she so worried in this situation, then? She wasn't even remotely doing anything to be misunderstood.

She sighed again and fell down on her class seat like a slime ball, putting her head on the desk and hanging her hands at her sides. The worry wasn't leaving, though.

She texted him between classes that she had questions about his curse for the research, since she started reading the books and needed some more info from him. She made sure to give enough excuses to make it sound like she wasn't trying to hog all his time.

J>> “Oh, sure! Sorry, I should've told you sooner. Come on over, I'll let Harold know. His cooking goes up a couple stars when you come over, so I can't complain, haha!”

She stared at the totally innocent text, and a thought passed through her mind that if Harold wasn't there, Josh then _would_ have something to complain about? Was she bothering him after all?

She closed her eyes in annoyance with herself and chased the thought away. It was all in her head.

  



	15. Chapter 15

 

While driving over to his place from school, the two sides of her being were arguing with each other. Her rational mind was trying its best to convince her emotional side that everything was okay, and there was no need to worry. Her emotional side, on the other hand, was full of anxiety, and she couldn't explain why. Finally, she turned the radio up to the max and danced in her seat to the Ariana beat.

She was in a good mood standing at the door, and when Harold opened it, she smiled and walked in. It was still light out, so Harold said that Josh was outside working in the garden.

The house smelled delicious, and the golden rays of the setting sun were streaming inside, transforming the gloomy residence into a cozy house. She walked down the hallway to the double French doors that led outside and saw Josh's beast figure sitting on the grass and hunched over his phone. She squinted at him and noticed that he was typing something on it with a stylus.

She facepalmed. Of course.

She went to the kitchen to put her purse on the table and drink some water. She watched Harold hover over the oven and stove with the funny potholders with Olaf from Frozen.

“Hm,” she chuckled, “You like Frozen?”

Harold turned to her and smiled, pulling the mittens off. “Oh, yeah, it's a sweet little story! I love Disney.”

He scraped some left over food from a pan into a glass container and took the pan to the sink to wash it. Katie watched him work and thought how this man lived with a real life magic boy, those Disney films probably seemed silly to him. Their entire charm was built on the fact that they were fantasy. If they happened in the real world, they would have been a whole lot darker, and probably most of them wouldn't have had the happy ending.

Katie finished her water and left the kitchen to go outside, as the same worry as before crept over her legs, slowing her down. She suddenly couldn't walk on her heels naturally anymore. Her knees as if froze up and didn't listen.

She almost punched herself in the face. Enough getting worked up about nothing!

Josh was doing some serious business on a flower bed with measures, levels, and string. There were a series of holes dug up around the edge of the bed at equal distances, and a bunch of blooming flowers laying to the side with their roots exposed. A little further down there was a green bag of some organic looking fertilizer.

It _was_ pretty hard to walk on the grass in her heels, though.

“Oh, hey,” he said, seeing her approach. “Sorry, I'll be done soon.”

“No problem.”

She was wearing her frilly blue mini skirt that was super short, and she suddenly felt so exposed. Okay, something was seriously wrong with her. She'd been here in sexy clothes before, and there was never an issue with them.

What is happening to her!

Okay, shortly, they will talk, like normal, and everything will go back to the way it was. She went and sat on one of the benches nearby and watched him carefully place each plant into its hole. His fir was all dirty on his knees and hands, and there was mud stuck to his face. He was concentrating hard on the task, and it was strange seeing him doing mundane yard work in his beast form.

“Ah, gotta make it before sunset,” he mumbled. “Hang on a few minutes.”

He put all the flowers in their place and patted the dirt around each one carefully. Next, he grabbed the hose that was laying beside him and squeezed the nozzle to water the plants. He looked up at the sky and then watered all over his lower arms and legs to get the dirt off him before the sunset. After he was done, he waddled over to the hose holder, turned off the water, pressed a button, and it started rolling up the hose for storage.

Then he went back towards Katie, who stood up as he got closer.

“You wanna go inside? It might get cold for you,” he said, referring to her bare legs and a light loose synthetic shirt on. They turned and slowly walked towards the house.

“Um…”

“Or did you wanna… you know? Race me on your heels?” He chuckled and grinned, exposing those vicious fangs.

“Oh… Sorry, not today…” It wasn't the heels that was the problem, it was her mini skirt that limited her movement severely. Not that she couldn't run in it, she just couldn't do anything remotely athletic without risking flashing her underwear to this guy.

“… Is it that time of the month?” he said.

She looked up at him. It actually was. “Yeah.”

“Oh, next time, then.”

“Yeah, next time.”

As they were walking, it dawned on her why she was so self conscious and anxious coming here. It was because he was better than her. By far. He was a better person.

And Katie, she felt so fake, pretentious, and self-centered, with all her Gucci clothes and five toned makeup. And she thought for sure he read her like an open book, and he was aware of all her vanity and vile, but he was so good that he never pushed her away. He accepted her, invited her into his house, and graciously shared his meals and his gaming console.

The world needed more people like him. Why was it that the best of us were fated to abandon it? But she just couldn't agree to that fate. She was prepared to wage her crusade against all the forces of darkness to save this brilliant soul so that it could spread its light into the world a little longer. Into her world. Because, she felt that she herself was more akin to that darkness, and if she went against it, would she become more like him?

And she didn't feel scared of his beast form anymore. Maybe that was because she'd seen it enough. But it was probably because it made her feel pity for him, a warm kind of melancholy, and a conviction that something supremely bad had been done to torture him, when he deserved none of it.

Inside the house, it was warm. Josh jokingly offered her one of his old pants, but a wild thought passed by her mind that her butt was a lot bigger than his, so she probably wouldn't fit in them, but she didn't say anything.

As they were walking down the hallway, Josh's Sasquatch appearance melted away, and he brushed his hair and fixed his long sleeve, looking like he couldn't wait to come back to his human self.

“Let's go over there,” he said as he turned to her and pointed at a hallway beside the guest bathroom. There was a smile on his face, and his eyes looked at her with joy.

Oh no! It seemed like he had no intention of dispelling the weirdness between them that happened when she cried in his arms. He was definitely misunderstanding!

She wasn't at all attracted to him in that way. Like Tyler and Andrew. This was different, way too different.

They followed along the hallway, in the opposite way of the kitchen, the office, and the library. In other words, she'd never been in this part of the house before. And for that reason, it felt a little more intimate than those more “public” rooms.

There was a series of arches with columns to the right, and a cozy little room with sofas behind them. It was decorated in dark reds with velvet drapes and furniture upholstery. There was a small coffee table in the middle of the room, some small book shelves at the walls behind the sofas. It seemed to be a reading room, and the sofas looked like they were used often.

It was quiet there. There were windows all along the wall on the other side of the columns, and blue evening light streaming through them into the reading room. Josh turned on some table lights and sat on one of the sofas.

Katie stepped over to the other sofa and sat on it carefully. Again, her mini skirt was giving her trouble. The sofa was sitting low, so she was risking flashing him, and she pressed her knees together and turned them to the side to avoid doing that.

Josh, on the other hand, was as comfortable as ever. He wasn't awkward or anxious; on the contrary, he welcomed the upgrade in closeness they experienced recently. And it was still in a very polite and friendly way, like it was a natural thing. He probably didn't think it was weird and wasn't tortured by the same thoughts Katie was. That fact was a relief for her.

“How are you?” He asked in a quiet and gentle voice that wasn't intended to leave the room.

It startled her. It was so intimate. But he looked so normal. His gaze was soft and casual, it wasn't like he was staring at her or giving her looks. It was just simple kindness, warm and deeply caring, comforting to the point that it made her want to cry and let out all of her worries. It was as if he was denying her words earlier accusing him of not caring about anything or anyone.

“Um, I'm fine.”

His look changed to something stricter. She was lying.

“Yeah… I'm good,” she hurried to say something more sincere.

“Did you make up with your friend?”

Her thoughts immediately went back to that dreadful day, and she shuddered. “Uh, yeah, we're good.”

Her heart beat faster.

“That's good. So, you said you started reading the books that Minnie gave you?”

“Oh, yeah,” she was thankful for the change of subject. “There's so much information, I just need some details to narrow it all down.”

“Hmm. So what do you think? Is it possible?”

She looked at him for a few seconds. “I don't know yet, but I have an idea.”

“Oh yeah?”

“Maybe. This is why I need more info.”

“Okay, sure. So, do you want me to talk, or do you have specific questions?”

“Um, sure, you talk, and then let me see if I still have questions.”

“Okay. What do you wanna know?”

“Like… the nature of the curse? Mainly? Like, what is happening to you?”

“I'm just possessed. That's it. And I think that the beast curse is separate from the one that will kill me.”

“Is it?”

“Yeah.”

“Do you know anything about that second one? I mean, the beast one is pretty obvious…”

He sighed and looked down, with his elbow on the back of the sofa and his head propped on his hand.

“Um… Whatever I know is what I heard from my mother, and it's pretty vague. So, apparently, on the day of my birthday, when the sun rises, I'll be dead.”

“Like, how's that gonna happen?”

“I dunno. My mom isn't gonna crawl out of anywhere to kill me personally, though, that's for sure. So, it'll probably be like my life force will leave me.”

“Hmm.” She thought for a few moments about that. “One of the books mentioned something about long-term spells that may require years to set up. So, there is most likely a set up somewhere, where your mother started the ritual years ago, and your life is required to complete it.”

“Oh, really? That's interesting!”

“Yeah, so this might be something worth looking into.”

“Hmm… Wow, this is good information!” He smiled, looking hopeful and surprised.

“Yep! So, if we can find it and somehow disrupt it, we may be able to stop your mother from taking your life at least.”

“You're talking about, like, walking into Mordor, you realize that?”

She chuckled, “Yes, I'm aware. It's probably protected.”

“Very much so! Finding it and then disrupting it won't be easy.”

“But it's possible! If it can save your life! I think it's worth a try!”

He looked at her for a short while. “So… You mean, I may not die after all?”

She smiled, “No!”

He threw his head back to lay it on the back of the couch and placed his palm over his eyes. It was clear he was blown away by the news.

He returned back to the sitting upright position. “So, what's the plan?”

“We need to find a safe place where your mother might have chosen for the ritual. And then we need to find the set up, learn what specific ritual it is, and then find some kind of crucial piece without which it wouldn't happen. Aside from your life, of course. But there might be something we can do to, just a wild guess here, to replace one of the items, or add something else, or destroy something.”

“Just nuke the whole thing from orbit.”

Katie laughed, feeling more relaxed. The anxiety was slowly fading away.

“Yeah, I mean, it's super dangerous to set food in her lair, and moreover trying to mess with her stuff in there, talk about a death wish!”

“Josh, but aren't you a Christian?”

He went quiet and looked at her, thinking about something.

“So?”

“Can't God protect you? Isn't there some kind of prayer that you can say?”

“God doesn't protect you from being stupid. Going into a lair full of all kinds of creepy stuff, that's asking for trouble.”

“Wait, but I thought if you're a believer, the dark forces shouldn't be able to touch you.”

“It's not that simple. I'm possessed, remember?”

“Oh… Right! So how does that work, though?”

“It apparently does. Prayer does protect you from random evil and whatnot. But when you're talking about witches and contracts and going into lairs and destroying rituals, it's still dangerous. It all depends on the amount of faith.”

“Oh?”

“Yeah. If I had enough faith, this wouldn't have happened to me. And I could've walked into any demonic lair and destroyed it with my mere presence. But, alas, I'm just a guy, not a saint, by far.”

She looked at him, considering it.

“There's three issues with walking into Mordor, heh, my mother's lair. First, is the part about gettin' there. So, as a Christian, I might be able to do that. The second part is messing with my mother's stuff, and that will be tricky. The third issue is the aftermath. And that one is the one that terrifies me the most. I'm not looking forward to the revenge afterwards, by all means.”

“Revenge? From your mother?”

“No, from the other party.”

“Oh… You mean…” Demons.

“So even if we disturb the ritual, my life may still be in danger, and also everyone involved.”

“What? Really?”

“Of course! You gotta talk to Minnie some more. She recently converted to Christianity as well, and she used to be a witch. She can tell you all about that. Revenge, I mean.”

“Wow! Okay!”

“Yeah. So we gotta think of some other way. A safer way. Because this one is insane.”

She sighed and her spirits went low. She didn't have a safer option. He rubbed his chin, thinking about it, and looking away out the window directly opposite.

“But I mean, if it means saving my life… Maybe there can be some way we could do that.”

“Really?” She looked at him with hope.

“I dunno. We gotta figure out what kinda ritual it is first.”

“Yeah!”

“So, keep looking for that info.”

“Okay! Sounds good!” She smiled.

He smiled back warmly and silently, and there it was again, that acknowledgment of closeness. And it put her emotions all in a turmoil again so much so that she wanted to jump up and run away. At the same time, she longed for that comfort that she knew she would feel if she was next to him, so she also wanted to jump up and run into his arms. Either way it would've been super weird. So she stayed in her seat, looking away, and trying to hide it all.

“So, do you still have questions?”

“Um…” She glanced at him and looked around, thinking. She was using all her mental powers to hide the way she was feeling, however, and her brain refused to cooperate with the conversation. “I don't think so, for now at least.”

“Okay, then,” Josh said and pushed off the couch to get up. “Would you like to have dinner with us? Harold's been really cranky at me for not keeping anyone lately for the meals he had been working hard to prepare.”

“Ugh! I'm so sorry! It's been my fault for the most part,” she said, getting up, and feeling bad about her behavior.

He smiled, but didn't comment. He went first out of the room, and Katie followed him into the dining room.

The atmosphere at the table was strained. Harold was quiet and only thanked Katie for staying over, carefully. He seemed weary not to say anything to provoke her, lest his dear guest storms off again. He offered her foods and drinks, limiting small talk only to about dinner and dinner only. Katie apologized for the scene she caused with Alana the other day, and he smiled and loosened up a bit. Josh didn't speak a word the entire evening. He only saw her off after they were done eating and said good night.

In the car, she was thankful that Josh and Harold didn't live that far from her, because she wasn't in a driving mood at all. She nearly drove into a telephone pole and almost ran over a cat. Her whole body was trembling, and she was feeling extremely embarrassed about the way she acted at Josh's house. She felt like she offended him, and it was the last thing she wanted to do. When they were eating, Josh just watched Harold and her chat casually and focused on his food more. She was distracted by the dinner, by Harold, and by her own thoughts buzzing like bees around in her head, so she didn't pay much attention to him. But in hindsight, she thought that he was definitely quieter than normal.

Maybe, she said something? Or maybe he was just thinking about the stuff they discussed? Or maybe she was too stiff and he noticed it?

The fact of the matter was that he definitely changed – in the way he looked at her and treated her. He took her to a more secluded place to talk rather than just going into the office where most conversations happened. It was a sign that he was letting her deeper into his world and opening up to her. But she didn't feel comfortable with that. It's not like she wasn't comfortable being closer to him. It was most likely because she didn't know how to be close with a guy without it getting sexual. And she hated herself for being that way.

She knew the game, the lover's game. She knew what to say, where to look, and how to sit, arching her back or leaning towards her target and showing off her thighs, and also how to throw her head back, letting her hair gently whip away from her face.

This behavior was ingrained in her. And she was terrified that, as she got closer to Josh, some of this conditioned response could slip out and ruin everything. This was probably also why she was weary of Tyler as well. He was totally hot, and a cool guy, but he was Josh's best friend. Even if there was nothing romantic between her and Josh, she just couldn't bring out the seductive fox in her in front of Tyler. Because that vixen wasn't for real, and her only purpose was to trample on and destroy hearts. She was never serious. And she would hate to do that to Josh's friend.

She sat in her car with her forehead resting on the steering wheel, and sighed deeply. Why couldn't she just be normal?

  



	16. Chapter 16

 

She was sitting in class, chin in hand, and looking at the teacher talking about math, but her thoughts were far away. She was busy thinking about what to do with herself and how to behave properly with a guy friend. Not wearing short skirts and sexy dresses was probably the first step, and besides, wearing comfy clothes wouldn't limit her movements and would help her feel more natural. In school, her clothes were her armor, she wanted to feel confident and beautiful, and that way she could stand up to that wicked society. The myriads of eyes that were looking at her, if they saw her dressed attractively, were full of jealousy and hatred. But if she was wearing something less excellent, their gazes would be demeaning and humiliating instead. But she only understood that on an intuitive level, somewhere deep in her subconscious, and didn't really try to explain it to herself.

There was no need to wear armor like that in Josh's presence. In that house, everyone was her friend, and that's why it was so dear to her. It was her little escape into a beautiful fantasy, a quiet refuge to fall back to after the fierce battle that was school.

Then, she thought about the way Josh acted with her.

What if, from his point of reference, he actually _was_ trying to be more romantic with her? She remembered his facial expressions and the kinds of smiles he showed her, but none of it gave her any romantic vibes, though. She knew it right away when guys were smitten by her. They way they would look at her from the side with a little smile, or stand there like deer in headlights with eyes wide and tong tied. Yet others would look away and blush if their eyes met. Josh did none of these things.

He was cool if she was there, and he was cool if she didn't come over. He could talk with her for as long as she needed, and didn't seem like he wanted to stay with her longer or see her more often. She'd never had male friends, but she felt like he was being a good friend, in all sense of the word.

He was so sweet, though. He gave her enough space, but would respond right away if she needed to see him. He would try to resolve any issues that had arisen between them, and even though he was often a little awkward in person, he made sure to try to communicate with her over text whenever there was a problem. He'd call her out, gently, on stuff he found inappropriate, he disagreed openly and stated his reasoning clearly. It seemed that whatever he felt or thought was all on the surface, and there was no need to hide anything from anybody, because he didn't have anything to be embarrassed about.

Because he was like that, it meant that in return, she had to be honest, too, and show all her cards. But she wasn't too sure she was ready to do that.

How would she open up to him, when there was nothing worth while in there to show him? Right now, their relationship was only hanging on the fact that he had the curse and she was looking for ways to break it. Without that, what could she offer? Maybe they could be gaming buddies, but that wasn't the level of friendship she found satisfying enough.

Nevertheless, she did want to be closer friends with him. She wanted to reciprocate those casual but meaningful looks he gave her, and she was so curious about the kind of relationship they could have, if she only let him get closer. Would it be something beautiful? She couldn't even imagine what it would be like – being best friends with him.

She wanted that. If only her wicked conditioning didn't get in the way. How could she do it? Maybe, slowly but surely? Approach him carefully, watching her every move, and controlling her body, and then maybe there could be something wonderful and healing and healthy that would be born of it?

God, that sounded better than anything.

She placed her cheek on her desk and looked out the window, watching the trees sway in the wind, and the birds hop from branch to branch, being so carefree with their buddies. How could she also be like that? Like an innocent bird which, if it wanted warmth, could just get close to its friends and allow itself to be loved.

She closed her eyes and sighed.

“Thinking about the magic boy?” Alana, who was sitting behind her, whispered to her, leaning over her desk.

Katie flinched and jumped in her seat. She turned to Alana and then looked around, realizing she was in class. She looked back at her friend again, who wiggled her eyebrows, grinning wide with the tip of her pen between her teeth. Katie frowned and turned around, focusing on the board.

What nonsense! She wasn't thinking of him in the way Alana thought she did.

Even if she was right.

And… she went right back to thinking about him.

When she came out of the classroom after the class was over, David Rogers was standing to the right of the door with his back against the wall. He glanced at her briefly and then pushed himself off the wall, with his entire being letting her know that he was up to bother her.

She walked faster, ignoring him.

He watched her with a smirk, walking behind her. As she was walking into her next class, she glanced back at him, and he stared at her from the side, turning away to go to his class. There was something sinister in his eyes and that smile. He seemed to enjoy himself.

What if it was him who was giving trouble to the football team?

Brianna materialized from between the rushing students, walking into the same class with Katie. She saw David's antics, turned to Katie, and grimaced. Katie made a face at her, that was saying, welcome to her life, and Brianna smiled. Katie waited for her to catch up to her in class to say hi, and the girl wrapped her arm around Katie's neck, pulling her down a bit since Katie was taller than her. Katie squeaked from surprise, but then giggled.

Brianna laughed and let her go, going to her seat. Jessie Larde from the cheer leading team was seating in the front, she turned all the way on her chair to watch the two girls and gasped dramatically. She then turned away, seemingly upset. Brianna looked at her with a smug smirk and then at Katie with a chuckle.

It was a such relief for Katie to be friends with a confident and fearless person like that. She only hoped that her new friend didn't suffer the consequences of being nice to the favorite girl to hate in this school.

She forgot about both David and Jessie as soon as class started.

She got a text from Andrew out of nowhere, and from Josh at the same time. She was walking out of a class when she noticed the two messages. She clicked on Josh's first.

J>> “Hey, how's it going? I talked to Tyler and Chuck about the stuff we talked about, and they said they wanna help with your research! They were impressed by your progress and said they wanna do something too! Or, Chuck's words, some random girl wants to save their best friend and they don't wanna just be “dead weight” in this “mortifying predicament” that I found myself in, and he's “dying to turn this monstrous injustice into sunshine and butterflies” again, Chuck's words.”

Katie snorted and let out a laugh, skipping a step.

J>> “So, they wanna come over and meet with you to talk about it. I'll talk to Minnie as well to see if she can assist us to unmortify and debeast me.”

“Pfft!”

J>> “Lemme know when you can do that. I mean, no rush, we got like 3 mo.”

She typed a response quickly, stalling at the next classroom.

K>> “Wow, that'd be great! Let me look at my schedule and see.”

J>> “Great! Bring Alana over, too! The more ppl, the better.”

Katie jerked and made a sound of surprise.

K>> “Will you be okay with that? I mean, last time she was there, she kinda went bonkers.”

J>> “Lol, I know, she did. She's cool, tho, she apologized. You got a good friend there!”

K>> “Why, thank you! I'm glad you two made up, tho.”

J>> “Yep, totally. So, no worries.”

K>> “Ok then, I'll tell her.”

J>> “Thanks!”

She smiled.

K>> “Np.”

She turned off the screen and then noticed that she still hadn't read Andrew's text.

A>> “Hey.”

A>> “I know you're in class, but I just wanted to apologize for the stuff I told you while I was high on pain killers. I didn't mean to confess to you, but since it's out the bag, I don't want you to feel obligated to give me a response or anything. I put you on the spot, I'm sorry. I wanna be friends with you. I don't find friendzone all that bad, so.”

A>> “Everything I said was true, tho.”

She stepped towards a wall and leaned on it with her shoulder, reading over the message again. He was so mature in that soft and gentle way, he could wrap you up in his caring pace, and you would never need anything else. Who would even want to hurt this man? They must be pure evil. It was probably David, that jerk.

She turned off the screen and walked into class, at which point she realized that she forgot to reply to the text. But before that, she had to check her schedule and see when she could spare an evening to gather the only minds that didn't hate her to finally work on Josh's situation. She had two essays due this week, plus a worksheet for math, and a short analysis for another class. There was also a drawing assignment. Man, time management was difficult. She decided that the best day was probably Friday and texted Alana before the class started.

Alana replied that she'd love to come Friday for the brainstorm get together. Then Katie texted to Josh to confirm that Friday was good for her and Alana, and he said he'll check with his people.

The class started shortly after, and she started to think about which homework she could quickly work on during lunch to free up more time.

She discovered that she forgot about Andrew's text altogether when she came back home. But she didn't know what to say. She stared at it at the dinner table, thinking, and her mind was blank. She didn't want to hurt his feelings, neither was she sure that she wanted to be just friends with him. Should she date him? Would she regret it later if she didn't? But she was super busy with other things, it just wasn't a good time to date. Besides, she was hanging out with Josh a lot, it probably wouldn't be a good idea to date Andrew, since she felt that if she did, she would inevitably get serious about him. But since she was helping Josh, it could cause tensions because she just would have to divide her time between them. Hey, maybe she could include Andrew into their group? Would that be okay? He'd be nice enough to help, too, maybe, but it would probably be a hassle for him in any case. So, it was probably a bad idea.

But Andrew would be one guy she wouldn't feel ashamed to date while being friends with Josh and his gang. Andrew was the real deal.

It's just that she felt terribly insecure and probably couldn't even keep Andrew by her side. Because she was a terrible person. She couldn't stand to ever disappoint him. What was that he even liked about her? That she was serious? That's it? Boy, was that a bad reason to love her.

She opened up her facebook and found a DM from David Rojers. She ignored it, going to her teacher's page to check the schedule that she would put up every week. After a while, curiosity got the better of her, and she clicked to read David's message.

“Dear Katie,

The cheer leading team for the football team have filed an official complaint about you to my School Shcoop page, check it out! They called you out on multiple accounts of offense against our sacred academy's policy, including indecent behavior, attire, attitude, and relationships with multiple men. It's pretty interesting, I suggest you read it.

I'm sure the teachers are tolerating you because your grades are good, but there are those who find the way you act, aside from academic performance, unacceptable. At our Catholic school, we value chastity, integrity, and genuine love for the opposite gender. Your promiscuity has brought misfortune to the foodball team, and caused a crack in the friendship between the captain and his right hand man, undoubtedly affecting their team's performance in their last year of high school.

We, the cheer leader team and the School Schoop, are patiently awaiting your official apology and a promise to repent and mend your ways to become a valuable and blameless daughter of our lord Jesus Christ and member of our community.

Hope to see you at our chapel some time, too! Have a good day!”

She squinted at her screen, reading that, then blinked a few times and squinted again. What the…

She closed the messenger and went ahead to do her homework, intending to do extra that day in order to free up her Friday.

Her phone buzzed. She looked who was texting her. It was Andrew, Caleb, Brianna, and Alana. They were all in a group text discussing the “official” reprimand on facebook. Apparently, David really posted the letter from the cheer leaders on his Schoop page, as well as mentioned that he PMed Katie. She didn't read the letter itself, though, since David nicely summarized it for her.

Andrew and Caleb had been trying to talk some sense into them on that post, apparently, without much success. Some teachers and other students added their comments as well, and it turned into a huge debate.

Katie had no time for any of that! She quickly scanned the Schoop post on facebook to see what was going on, but it was too confusing to figure it out quickly, so she sighed and got back to her homework, texting the group chat that she was super busy right now.

She still had to read Minnie's books some more, too. This was so much more important than any of that pointless drama. The phone buzzed non stop as the four discussed the post in her absence.

She sighed and put it on her bed so it didn't vibrate loudly on her desk.

After shower, she checked her texts to try to read the Andrew group messages and saw that Josh sent her a text in between that mad texting spree.

J>> “Talked to everyone, they're cool with meeting on Friday at 7.”

She replied right away.

K>> “Ok, see you then!”

He texted after a couple minutes.

J>> “Cool.”

She looked over the texts from Andrew group chat, and it was way too long to catch up before bed time. They were basically bashing David, the Schoop, some teachers and students, and defending Katie. There was also discussion about who pushed Andrew off the cliff, and he said he didn't see who it was. Alana then said that David had been acting suspiciously and Brianna agreed. There was something fishy going on, for sure.

She texted good night to the group and that she'll talk to them tomorrow, and they all wished her good night, too.

***

She really didn't want to be in school these days. Could everyone just leave her alone, please? Her dating life had suddenly became the talk of the town, and the cheer leading squad was the trustworthy source of the details, rather than Andrew and Caleb. The two football stars were deemed unreliable since they were under the spell of Katie Blois, the master manipulator and man breaker. Alana and Brianna were obviously her friends so of course they would take her side. Only the righteous and extremely worried for everyone's safety cheer leaders headed by Evelyn were correct in their concerns.

Katie couldn't care less about it, though.

She was called into the principal's office to explain the reprimand on facebook, and she spent thirty minutes talking to him to say that it wasn't official by all means, the cheer leaders were just jealous of her when they thought she was dating Andrew, but she wasn't. And David was just there to ride the hype wave.

The principal still urged her to apologize. He didn't even believe her. And plus the fact that she'd been dating one guy after the other was true, which wasn't a praiseworthy behavior for an exemplary student like her.

At that point she just swallowed her pride and gave in. She quickly wrote an “official” apology on facebook and promised she'll change her ways. This was probably the quickest way to get it over with. She did mention that there was nothing between her and Andrew and that the recent attack on him was unrelated to her getting involved with Caleb and him.

Her phone buzzed again with a ton of texts from the Andrew group, and her facebook exploded with even more heated accusations and hateful curses. There were nine new DMs from people she barely knew, and her facebook page was flooded with spam and all sorts of garbage.

Her instagram was also seeing a lot of hateful comments on her pictures, calling her a slut and every imaginable insult under the sun.

Her apology made it worse. She screenshotted her facebook wall and the reprimand's comments section and sent it to the principal over email to show him that it backfired in the most beautiful (that's not the word she used, though) way.

The principal had to go on facebook and calm everyone down personally.

Katie closed the facebook tab and went back to her essay with spotify in the background.

  



End file.
